Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
the_joker
Category:
Movies
News

David Ayer Says Jared Leto’s Suicide Squad Joker Was Comic-Accurate

Jared Leto's take on the Joker in Suicide Squad comes in for a lot of criticism, some of it unfair. It's known that large chunks of Leto's performance were left on the cutting room floor, most significantly the fleshing out of his relationship with Harley Quinn. Beyond that, he had the difficult job of following Heath Ledger and has now been comprehensively overshadowed by Joaquin Phoenix. Honestly, though, there were aspects of his scuzzy, trashpunk Spring Breakers-influenced Joker that I kinda liked.
David James
David James
|

Published: Jun 5, 2020 03:05 pm

This article is over 4 years old and may contain outdated information

Jared Leto’s take on the Joker in Suicide Squad comes in for a lot of criticism, some of it unfair. It’s known that large chunks of Leto’s performance were left on the cutting room floor, most significantly the fleshing out of his relationship with Harley Quinn. Beyond that, he had the difficult job of following Heath Ledger and has now been comprehensively overshadowed by Joaquin Phoenix. Honestly, though, there were aspects of his scuzzy, trashpunk Spring Breakers-influenced Joker that I kinda liked.

Recommended Videos

Suicide Squad director David Ayer still believes that he and Leto got it right, too. Since the film’s release, he’s talked up how impressed he was with the actor and how he prepared for the role. But now, in response to a picture posted on Twitter, Ayer’s arguing that Leto’s Joker is comic-accurate.

His proof is an image that shows Leto’s take matched with several iconic depictions from the comics. We see him compared with Brian Bolland’s from The Killing Joke, Tony Daniels’ from Batman RIP, Frank Miller’s from The Dark Knight Returns and Alex Ross’ from Batman: Harley Quinn. But while the visuals and poses certainly match up, I still think it’s a leap to say the Leto Joker was comic-accurate.

 

Then again, the Joker is one of the most malleable figures in comics – able to be both Cesar Romero’s clown-about-town and Heath Ledger’s philosophically minded anarchist. Basically, the Joker has had so many personalities over the years that claiming that any specific one is the ‘real’ Joker just doesn’t work.

Right now, it’s looking extremely unlikely that Leto will ever return for more. Warner Bros. have probably concluded that after the wild success of Joker, he’s best left in the past. Plus, we’re hearing that the next big Joker casting will be for the sequel to Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which should be with us sometime in the mid-2020s.

So, if you’re a Leto Joker fan, your best bet is to campaign for that Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad to be released.

We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
related content
Author
Image of David James
David James
I'm a writer/editor who's been at the site since 2015. Love writing about video games and will crawl over broken glass to write about anything related to Hideo Kojima. But am happy to write about anything and everything, so long as it's interesting!
twitter google