Out of all the on-screen Jokers we have seen to date, Jared Leto’s portrayal was undoubtedly one of the most different and controversial ones. It was different from both the past versions of the character we have seen in Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledger and also from the critically acclaimed performance of Joaquin Phoenix that came afterward. But as the Leto version of the Clown Prince of Crime didn’t see a fruitful run, the Fight Club actor allegedly tried to stop Joker from happening.
Jared Leto’s Joker was introduced in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad where the director wanted to present a unique interpretation of the character only for his scenes to be reduced to 10 minutes. According to Ayer, a huge chunk of the movie, and especially Joker’s scenes were cut which didn’t let us see much of the terror that was actually planned for the character.
Did Jared Leto want to stop Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker?
Joker is a character that has seen some of the best performances over the years. Some great names like Mark Hamill, Jack Nicholson, and Heath Ledger have essayed the role. According to the backstage reports that we get, Jared Leto was quite dedicated to his role and wanted to make his version memorable as well. Unfortunately, a large chunk of his part was left on the cutting room floor.
Reports by The Hollywood Reporter stated that the Dallas Buyers Club actor was utterly disappointed when the studio wanted to move with a solo Joker movie with Joaquin Phoenix. The actor was allegedly so upset that he was hellbent on destroying the movie that went on to collect $1.07 billion. He reportedly complained to his agents at CAA who also worked for Phoenix.
Later the incident became more controversial as it was alleged that the American Psycho actor told his music manager Irving Azoff to contact the head of Warner’s Parent company. Both Jared Leto and Irving Azoff declined to comment on the reports. Although Leto left CAA soon after, sources close to him cleared that he was looking to switch for a long time and it was not due to the Joaquin Phoenix movie.
Was Jared Leto a good Joker?
According to director David Ayer, there were a lot more phenomenal moments from the movie that featured Jared Leto’s Joker and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn together. He revealed that so many scenes were cut from the movie that it would have made a full-length Joker movie. A huge number of fans still demand the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad as the studio interference affected the movie a lot.
Soon after Snyder’s Cut was released, the fans were more hopeful that they might get to watch the unseen clips of Joker and the other characters that were skipped in the theatrical cut. The Morbius lead gave a lot of effort to the movie after he resorted to method acting and did stuff like gifting live rats or dead pigs to his co-stars.
When the studio was forced to release the director’s cut of Josstice League, the Oscar-winning actor also returned to his role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. There he was even shown to have a conversation with Ben Affleck’s Batman in the Knightmare sequence. It can be undoubtedly said that the fate of Jared Leto’s Joker didn’t receive justice even though he praised his DC experience to be amazing.
Suicide Squad and Joker can be streamed on Max.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
