Will Joker: Folie à Deux actually feature a fantastical villain? Director Todd Phillips gives his thoughts on whether Harvey Dent will transform into Two-Face during the course of the sequel.
Fans have known Harvey Dent was going to appear in Joker: Folie à Deux for a while. Set photos during filming confirmed that Todd Phillips would be bringing DC’s most beloved attorney into the upcoming sequel. However, given how adamant the director has been about the series being grounded, a question lingered of whether Dent would actually become Two-Face. According to Phillips, that transformation was never in the cards.
“We respect the comics. We get the comics,” Phillips explained in a recent talk with IGN. “In Harley’s case, we watched the animated series. Of course, Margot Robbie is Harley Quinn. But when we run things through this film — Harvey Dent is a perfect example. It’s actually a simpler way of talking about what we did with Harley, which was really just put the real-world lens on it, and not that other movies didn’t, but just run it through our Gotham.”
“And so really, the Harvey Dent you meet in here is not a huge part, but if you’re going to have a trial, why wouldn’t you have the Assistant DA prosecuting Arthur Fleck be Harvey Dent? But it’s not about his – we don’t really reveal his dark side. We see a young Harvey Dent.”
This news is certain to disappoint a lot of DC fans hoping to see Two-Face finally making his return to the silver screen. While it makes sense that Todd Phillips would want to continue the grounded storytelling from the first film with Joker: Folie à Deux, it could be argued that Harvey Dent is the only Batman villain that actually makes sense in this world, making him the perfect fit as the antagonist for a sequel.
The Controversies Of Joker: Folie à Deux
Harvey Dent not becoming Two-Face is emblematic of one of the biggest controversies of Joker: Folie à Deux. Many DC fans see the director as being ashamed to make a comic book movie, especially given how far he’s taken characters like Harley Quinn (Now called Lee) from their comic roots. This isn’t helped by Todd Phillips’ repeated focus on staying grounded and staying away from the fantastical when making the sequel.
The budget of Joker: Folie à Deux has also drawn ire among fans. The reported budget for the film sits at around $200 million, which is a similar range to massive DC blockbusters like The Flash. Fans have grown skeptical of these ballooning budgets, especially as parent companies like Warner Bros. Discovery have axed relatively cheaper films like Coyote Vs. Acme and Batgirl.
Joker: Folie à Deux is set to hit theaters on October 4, 2024. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the sequel and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
