Jared Leto's Joker Will Have A New Look In The Zack Snyder's Justice League
For years, the Snyder Cut waited patiently in the shadows, spoken of in hushed tones by those wise enough to fear it. Now, like a noble cicada, it stands poised to unearth itself and make as much noise as it wants for as long as it damned well pleases.
And nobody makes noise like erstwhile Mars-travel time enthusiast Jared Leto. It's difficult to remember now, but there was a time when Leto's take on the Joker was the most pressing concern in America, but his gut-busting takes on timeless japes like "would you die for me?" and "I need a machine gun" cemented him in the public eye as the preeminent Clown Prince of Crime. The only thing souring the guac: Leto's claim that he wouldn't be returning to the role following his disappointment with Suicide Squad.
Then up came the cicadas. Zack Snyder has now confirmed that Leto will return to his most divisive role in the upcoming recut of Justice League; even more excitingly, the Snyder Cut will reportedly feature a whole new aesthetic for Joker — one which, while still unseen by the general public, was described by Grace Randolph of Beyond The Trailer as "so amazing" and even "video game-level good." Whatever that means.
Will Jared Leto's Joker be a Snyder Cut above the rest?
So, what can we expect from Snyder's take on the Joker? For that, we go straight to the horse's mouth.
"I wanted to of course, you know, honor what had been created with him, because I thought it was really cool," Snyder told Beyond The Trailer. "Some water has gone under the proverbial bridge between when last we saw Joker and this appearance, so yeah, he's made some ... he's a road-weary Joker."
That doesn't give fans a lot to go on, but points to a few possible comic book inspirations for a vintage Joker. Snyder took plenty of visual inspiration from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns for 2016's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, aping Batman's uniform and Superman-busting power armor for the movie. That comic featured an older, crabbier Joker in a white tuxedo. It'll be interesting to see if the Snyder cut takes more cues from that bleak universe, or goes in its own direction with the material. A scene where an older, incognito Joker sits in a dermatologist's office and waits to get his tattoos lasered off would be, if nothing else, cathartic.
Zack Snyder's Justice League is set to bring some more unexpected names back to the franchise via reshoots, including Amber Heard as Mera and Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke. It's scheduled for release on HBO Max as a four-part series in early-to-mid 2021.