Jared Leto Doesn’t Know If He’s In Suicide Squad 2

DC was probably scratching their heads in confusion after the release of Suicide Squad. It was a total critical disaster (currently sitting at 25% on the Tomatometer), yet made a whopping $750m at the box office. Impressive for a film centered around D-list DC Universe villains, don’t you think?

No doubt they were pleased as punch with the financial returns, but where do you go with Suicide Squad 2? Tread the same path and risk more rotten eggs from the critics, or mix things up and risk turning off the existing audience? The answer to that question is still unclear, but given that much of Suicide Squad‘s marketing revolved around Jared Leto’s trash punk Joker, you’d assume he’d at least be returning for the sequel, right? Well, maybe not. Though we’ve heard reports that he will indeed be back, the actor himself isn’t so sure.

In a recent interview to promote Blade Runner 2049, he was asked whether or not he’ll have a role in Suicide Squad 2 and wouldn’t give a firm answer, instead saying, “There’s a lot of moving parts, so we’ll see what happens.”

While Leto refuses to commit to the project here, it’s widely assumed that he’ll be coming back to reprise as the Joker, and if that turns out to be the case, then we can only hope that moving forward, the character will be handled a lot better than he was in Suicide Squad. It’s no secret that the portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime in that film rubbed many people the wrong way and if Warner Bros. wants to change the public perception of him, they’ll need to make some serious alterations to the villain for his next appearance in the franchise.

Story-wise, Suicide Squad 2 has been playing its cards close to the vest. The original movie launched in close proximity to Batman V Superman, and even featured a brief cameo from the Caped Crusader himself. But now that Task Force X have cemented their place in the ever-evolving DC Extended Universe, we’re more inclined to believe that the studio will allow their sequel to stand on its own two feet, albeit with some subtle references here and there.

Suicide Squad 2 is expected to go before the cameras at some point in 2018, which would place the anti-hero flick on course for a theatrical release in 2019. Assuming that’s indeed the case, it’ll join Wonder Woman 2 and, presumably, David Sandberg’s Shazam movie, which has now begun casting the net in search of someone to play the titular hero.