When Joker hit theaters in October, it inspired waves of debate about everything from its violence to what it meant for the future of DC films. And it also left some unanswered questions. Now Joker’s script has made its way online, and devoted fans have pored over its pages to find answers. One of the most intriguing details the script reveals is the fate of Sophie Dumond, one of the film’s most sympathetic characters.
In Joker, Arthur Fleck falls in love with his neighbor, the down-on-her-luck single mother. Throughout the film, Sophie seems to be one of the only people who actually cares about him. So he’s devastated when he visits her apartment and realizes that their entire relationship has been a figment of his imagination. The film makes the aftermath of this revelation ambiguous, because we don’t find out what happens to Sophie afterwards.
The final shooting script for Joker includes two scenes that show us that Sophie survived. After killing Randall, Arthur takes his money and puts it in an envelope labeled ‘SOFI,’ along with a note asking her to watch Murray Franklin’s TV show. Later, as Arthur kills the TV host live on air, the scene cuts to Sophie, horrified, as she watches the havoc unfold on her TV.
These cut scenes confirm what Joker’s director Todd Phillips has already alluded to. In an earlier interview, he assured fans that Sophie had, in fact, survived Arthur’s wrath. And he explained that he removed the scenes that would have shown this from the final cut because he wanted the film to be solely focused on Arthur’s perspective.
Given that information, it makes sense that he would have cut the final glimpse of Sophie from Joker. But he could have potentially kept the first scene, which would have given fans a bit more closure with regards to her character. Regardless, this leaves the door open for Zazie Beetz to reprise her role in the upcoming Joker sequel. The fact that Arthur chose to spare her, when he was so unforgiving of everyone else, is reason enough to continue to explore what she represents in his life.
While fans await the next installment of Todd Phillips’ macabre origin story, they can keep themselves occupied with Joker’s script. It’s full of fascinating insights. The first page of the script alone paints a clear picture of what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish. Perhaps most interestingly, the introduction makes quick and decisive work of setting Joker apart from all other DC Films by explaining it has no connection to them. And with that single statement, it sets the scene for what would become one of the most divisive films of the year.