For instance, a reference to Jack Nicholsons’s portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime in Tim Burton’s Batman movie can be found in the new film.
A similar reference has been inserted into the movie regarding Heath Ledger’s Joker.
Thanks to these little shout-outs, the latest Joker movie feels like it in the tradition of the earlier films, telling the tale of the character before he became Batman’s greatest nemesis.
It is almost as if the spirit of Nicholson’s Joker is guiding his actions from that point onwards, as Phoenix’s Joker changes his plans at the last minute and shoots Murray instead.