Both Ben Affleck’s Batman and Jared Leto’s Joker returning to play their parts in the upcoming Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Leto had earlier played the role in the colossal failure of a movie Suicide Squad. There were plans for the Oscar winning actor to star in a solo Joker movie. But Joss Whedon’s Justice League and the DCEU changing course subsequently led to a shift in those plans. Joaquin Phoenix later portrayed the rule of the Clown Prince of Crime in Joker, for which he won an academy award. Everybody thought Leto’s tenure as the Joker was over considering he is now playing the role of Morbius in Sony’s movie of the same name.
Zack Snyder had his own designs for Leto’s Joker, designs that never came into being. But HBO Max managed to salvage those plans. The Snydercut is back on track. Zack Snyder’s Justice League is brining in the big guns. Jared Leto returns with many other former DCEU actors.
Now let’s address the elephant in the room – How exactly does Leto’s inclusion into the Snydercut Justice League help? What is the angle we are missing here? Obviously there’s more to it than what meets the eye. And this is where this brilliant theory comes. Jared Leto’s Joker is not there to fight the bad guys. In fact, he is no longer playing the role of a super villain. Jared Leto’s Joker is an ally to Ben Affleck’s Batman.
That’s right folks – the Joker is working with Batman. But how have the tables turned? Here’s how.
We saw glimpses of the future DCEU timeline in the Knightmare sequence in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Bruce Wayne saw himself in a bleak future where the Earth has been all but conquered by Darkseid’s parademons. The Snydercut trailer reveals the Joker’s insignia right in the beginning. Batman is also holding a gun carrying the Joker’s symbol. Considering just how much symbolic and connected Zack Snyder’s vision for the DCEU is, we believe this is no coincidence.
There is no way Batman would consciously carry a weapon bearing the Joker’s symbol without a deeper meaning to it. In the future, with Darkseid devastating the Earth, it is possible that the heroes and former villains have joined forces. A common foe has united the two legendary rivals. Batman and Joker now work together to bring down the God of Evil.
But wait there’s more!! Even though the Joker is an ally now in the future, why would Batman carry his card on his gun? He is not one to forget the heinous acts Joker has done. But what if the Joker has done something to redeem himself? What if the Joker sacrificed himself to save the world, or save Batman? A selfless act such as that would be enough to demand some form of respect from the Dark Knight. The DCEU might be going for the same direction the MCU went with Loki. In the Knightmare timeline, times are desperate. And the Joker might no longer be alive because he died saving Batman. That is why Batman is still carrying the Joker card. Zack Snyder’s Justice League might be opting for an act of redemption for the Clown Prince of Crime.
