Why You'll Never See Any Joker Deleted Scenes

A gritty, violent take on one of DC Comics' most infamous and instantly recognizable characters, Joker was all anyone could talk about in the fall of 2019. How did Joaquin Phoenix prepare for his role as Arthur Fleck, the mentally unstable aspiring comedian who snaps and becomes a mouthpiece for Gotham's disenfranchised? Would Phoenix's portrayal of the man who called himself the Joker be better or worse than the late Heath Ledger's? Is there a possibility for a Joker sequel? What didn't viewers get to see on screen?

That last question is arguably the most intriguing to chew upon, as there are a number of scenes that didn't make it into the theatrical version of Joker. But unlike what the vast majority of studios and creatives do with their films, Warner Bros. and director Todd Phillips have no intentions to release any of Joker's deleted scenes.

To put it plainly, Joker director Todd Phillips just straight-up hates deleted scenes. He owned up to that fact in conversation with Collider, telling the outlet that he has an aversion to releasing deleted scenes to the public, as he feels whatever makes it to the big screen should be the only cut of a film audiences ever see.

When asked whether full scenes were removed from Joker or if they were simply trimmed down in the editing bay, Phillips revealed that there are, quote, "plenty of deleted scenes [but] they're not going to be on the DVD."

He continued:

"I don't do deleted scenes [...] Deleted scenes are deleted for a reason. I have a thing against extended cuts and I kind of hate deleted scenes. The movie that exists is exactly the movie we want it to be I feel like all that adding deleted scenes do is confuse it."

Though Phillips and Phoenix built a strong rapport while shooting Joker, they almost had a disagreement over a scene that was ultimately cut from the film. As Phoenix told Collider, there was a scene he loved that Phillips eventually wanted gone: one that takes place inside the stairwell at Ha-Ha's, the clown-for-hire company for which Arthur works.

According to Phillips, the scene was, quote, "a heartbreaker," and one of the last ones cut out of the film. It saw Arthur and his co-worker Randall whom, if you'll recall, Arthur eventually dispatches violently with a pair of scissors talking "on the stairwell leading up to the Ha-Ha's offices." Ultimately, Phoenix agreed with Phillips' analysis and realized the moment needed to be tossed to make Joker the best it could be.

Phoenix dished:

"I'd always really liked the scene. And Todd told me and said, 'We're cutting that scene out.' And at first I thought, like, 'Wait a minute, what do you mean have you cut that scene out?' And then of course I saw it, and it was very obvious. It has to go. That's just what's so cool about movies, right? You can have a great scene, it's something that makes sense, but the movie is the collection of all of these scenes and they have to work together to tell the story." Keep watching the video to see why you'll never see any Joker deleted scenes!

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