Zack Snyder completely reimagines Jared Leto‘s take on Batman’s joke-filled nemesis Joker in just two photos. The Justice League shots shared exclusively through Vanity Fair take the character from a tattooed cringy crime-lord to a terrifying walking nightmare. The clown prince was not apart of Snyder’s original plan for the film before he stepped away. However, when offered the chance by HBO Max to bring his own version to life, he decided to add in a few additional elements. Leto’s Joker is one of them.
He shared with Vanity Fair that “The Joke is really the only thing that I thought of in retrospect. But I will say that it was always my intention to bring Joker into that world.” We can see just how much has changed between Leto’s first appearance in Suicide Squad and where we see him now with only two images. The tattoos are gone, the slicked-back hair has grown out. Now we see the Joker in a hospital gown and surgical mask like he just escaped an insane asylum.
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SPOILER WARNING. Vanity Fair shared that Leto’s Joker appears in Snyder’s Justice League during a dream sequence experienced by Ben Affleck‘s Batman. We saw a bit of this during the original film, though for those who haven’t read the comics or watch other DC shows, this whole bit felt a bit out of place. This time the Joker will serve as a nightmare of the future that could be if Darkseid is able to invade and decimate the planet.
Snyder shared that he had always wanted to explore more of Batman and Joker’s relationship and even Robin’s death. During Batman v Superman we caught glimpses of the Joker through a card tapped to Bruce’s gun and Robin’s armor spray-painted with “Ha Ha, Joke’s On you, Batman.” It will be interesting to see how Snyder handles this in his telling of Justice League. Snyder made it pretty clear that this Joker may be a call back to Suicide Squad; his Justice League remains a standalone movie.
You can catch Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max starting March 18, 2021. The film will take place in four-house long episodes and eventually be released as a full theatrical version. Let us know in the comments below and on social media what you think about this new take on Jared Leto’s Joker!
Who I Am: A nerd by the strictest definition. I enjoy diving straight into my favorite fandoms without a care in the world. I live on video/board games, fantasy movies and TV, and all things geeky.
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