Joker: Every Easter Egg & Reference We Spotted

By Jack Pooley / October 4, 2019

17. The King Of Comedy

Even more so than Taxi Driver, Joker pays homage - if we're being kind - to Martin Scorsese's 1982 black comedy classic The King of Comedy.

Scorsese's film revolves around Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro), a deranged, failed stand-up comedian who kidnaps successful talk show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) in order to perform on his show.

The parallels speak for themselves, a fact exacerbated by the knowing casting of De Niro in the Jerry Lewis role this time around.

But of course, Phillips' film decides to take its hostage scenario to a far darker conclusion, ending with Arthur shooting De Niro's talk show host Murray Franklin dead on live TV.