The reception to Jared Leto’s performance as the Joker in Suicide Squad was so apathetic that when it was announced Joaquin Phoenix would be slapping on the face paint to play a different version of the character in Todd Phillips’ standalone R-rated origin story, nobody except the Academy Award winning actor himself seemed to care that he’d been kicked to the curb in favor of Arthur Fleck.
Leto was reportedly furious at being sidelined as Warner Bros. pursued a new spin on the Clown Prince of Crime, especially when most of his Suicide Squad scenes had ended up on the cutting room floor and his proposed solo outing alongside Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn had also been abandoned, before Birds of Prey appeared to write him out of the franchise entirely.
However, the 30 Seconds to Mars frontman was a surprise addition to the cast of Zack Snyder’s Justice League for the recent batch of reshoots, and both the filmmaker and actor will be hoping that audiences react much better to his Joker this time around. Indeed, ever since he agreed to a return, speculation has gone into overdrive about how, when, where and why Leto’s Jester of Genocide will next be seen in the DCEU, and insider Daniel Richtman now provides the latest addition to the rumor mill.
According to the tipster, the actor is pushing for an R-rated solo movie, which is pretty bold after the last adult-skewing Joker we got became the highest-grossing R-rated film ever and a firm awards season favorite. Of course, there’s every chance we could never see Leto’s take on the comic book icon again once Justice League is over, but either way, we won’t get our answer until March at the very earliest.
