The Snyder Cut of Justice League is the single most highly anticipated comic book blockbuster since Avengers: Endgame, and while Zack Snyder recently admitted that it exists on the fringes of DCEU continuity and won’t set up any major storylines to be carried into the future, fans have already embraced it as official canon.
Of course, the current complexion of the franchise is markedly different to how it looked when Joss Whedon’s maligned theatrical edition was first unleashed onto an unsuspecting world, with Warner Bros.’ shared universe seemingly in a constant state of flux. Ben Affleck retired and then returned as Batman, Henry Cavill inked a new deal after years of doubt surrounding his continued involvement, The Flash still hasn’t started shooting yet, Wonder Woman’s second solo outing has proven to be incredibly polarizing and Ray Fisher has seemingly drawn a line under his time as Cyborg after his frequent battles against the studio hierarchy.
Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke and Jared Leto’s Joker, meanwhile, were two surprising new additions to the ensemble for Snyder’s batch of reshoots, and in a recent interview, the divisive Clown Prince of Crime admitted that he’s open to sticking around after Justice League. Furthermore, in a nice bit of brand synergy, he compared the iconic DC villain to his character in upcoming HBO Max release The Little Things.
“It’s hard to say no to that character. It’s like Albert Sparma in The Little Things. There are very few characters that you play that have absolutely no rules, you know, that you could just go to town. It’s so much fun, that energy. I had a lot of fun with that character. Sparma reminds me a little bit of that character as well, in that he’s just a little outside the box. He’s someone who says everything that he thinks, basically. And he always is surprising. He’s very playful. And I found him actually quite funny as well.”
Based on the rampant speculation since the 48 year-old was announced to be returning, you’d have thought that Leto had already signed a multi-picture contract given the sheer volume of projects he’s been linked to. Evidently that isn’t the case, but you can’t rule anything out when it comes to the comic book genre, especially if Justice League‘s Joker gets a much better reception that the version we met in Suicide Squad.
