The Flash has already established that the DCEU has more than enough room for multiple versions of Batman, with both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck joining Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader under the Warner Bros. umbrella. And wherever the Dark Knight goes, you can guarantee that the Joker won’t be far behind, even though the role currently remains vacant in the franchise’s main timeline.
Joaquin Phoenix may have steered Todd Phillips’ standalone psychological thriller to over a billion dollars at the box office and awards season glory, but he’s hardly the type of actor to commit to a multi-film franchise. Then again, the rumored $50 million he’s been offered would be incredibly hard to turn down.
Of course, the Clown Prince of Crime is also widely expected to show up at some point during Matt Reeves’ The Batman trilogy, and while it still remains to be seen who’ll be playing that version, we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones that told us Affleck would be returning in The Flash weeks before it was officially announced – that the previous incumbent of the role is also pushing hard for a comeback.
According to our intel, Jared Leto still wants to continue as the DCEU’s Joker and is now proposing either a solo movie or an HBO Max project for his divisive take on the character. The Academy Award winner was seemingly written out of the franchise in Birds of Prey, but the multiverse means that all bets are currently off, and there’s every chance he signed a multi-picture deal when he first agreed to star in Suicide Squad.
Not only that, but Affleck’s Batman has been rumored to come face to face with Leto’s Joker in the past as well, and with the studio expanding their comic book output at a rapid pace, the idea of a return for the actor can’t be taken completely off the table just yet, even if it’s just in the form of flashbacks or some sort of prequel. It’s unclear if Warner Bros. is interested in having him back, but at the very least, it’s nice to know that he hasn’t totally moved on from the role.
