With Joaquin Phoenix rising like his bird surname from the ashes of Jared Leto’s Joker, the Walk the Line star has cemented himself as one of the best to ever portray Batman’s archnemesis. Phoenix joins the likes of Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, and Heath Ledger as those who’ve brought Mr. J to life. However, did you spot a well-hidden nod to Batman ’89 in Todd Phillips’ 2019 movie?
Phillips’ Oscar-nominated adventure charted new territory for the Clown Prince of Crime as it gave Joker a gritty origin story. Although Arthur Fleck is a million miles away from the ‘classic’ version of the character depicted by Nicholson, that hasn’t stopped eagle-eyed fans spotting a subtle Easter egg to Tim Burton’s Batman ’89.
Posting on Reddit, u/googsmaster spotted that the painting in Fleck’s apartment is the very same Nicholson’s Joker fawned over in Gotham City’s Flugelheim Museum. Batman‘s museum scene is one of the movie’s most famous as Nicholson’s typically OTT Joker danced around to Prince’s “Partyman”.
It appears that both versions of Joker have a particular fondness of Thomas Gainsborough’s “The Blue Boy”. The 1770 painting popped up in the background of both movies, which also adds fuel to the fire that Phoenix’s Joker is somehow connected to the versions of the character that came before and after.
In Batman (1989 )a painting the joker has his eyes on is featured in The joker( 2019 ) from MovieDetails
As Robert Pattinson prepares to take to the skies in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and rumours of a Joker sequel continue to make the rounds, fans will have to wait and see whether Phillips’ movie is the standalone he claims it is.
While it’s sometimes easy to forget Burton’s seminal movie as the likes of Christian Bale and Ben Affleck have suited up in the cape and cowl, it’s important to remember what his Batman movies did for the character. With Michael Keaton portraying the Dark Knight, Burton’s dark and brooding Gotham was more in line with the comics and a million miles away from the campy Adam West years of the TV series.
Although fans know Phillips was influenced by Scorsese movies like Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, this Easter egg hints that Burton’s Batman might’ve had more sway on Joker than we first thought.
Interestingly, Batman ’89 put a clever twist on the source material and revealed Nicholson’s Jack Napier was the one who pulled the trigger on Thomas and Martha Wayne in Crime Alley. Ironically, Phillips had toyed with a similar idea in Joker.
Even though the theatrical cut had an unknown assailant killing Bruce’s parents, Joker‘s original ending was going to have Fleck gun them down and turn his pistol on the orphaned kid to kill Bruce before he ever became Batman.
It was definitely an out-there idea that fitted the idea of Joker‘s unreliable narrator, however, it would’ve made the movie’s ending more confusing and divisive. Even if “The Blue Boy” is nothing more than a visual tip of the hat to Burton’s days, at least Phillips honoured the lauded legacy of the Caped Crusader.
[Featured Image: Warner Bros.]