OK, let’s be realistic. Sooner or later there will be another actor given the (likely thankless) task of playing the Joker either on the big screen or small screen, and following up on Heath Ledger’s posthumous Oscar-winning performance as the iconic Clown Prince of Crime in The Dark Knight. He is Batman’s greatest nemesis, and both Warner Bros. and DC will hold out only so long before they will bring him back, especially with that massive superhero based movie schedule that stretches to 2020 (we can assume Fox’s Gotham will beat them to the punch with a Joker origin story).
The Wrap is reporting that Jared Leto is on short list for a role in director/screenwriter David Ayer’s big screen adaptation of DC Comics’ Suicide Squad. That role, according to their source, “an individual familiar with the Warner Bros. project,” is none other than the Joker.
Keep in mind there are also numerous reports that everyone from Will Smith, Tom Hardy and Margot Robbie are up for parts in the film about a group of super villains getting a shot at reprieve from the government by taking on no-win-scenario missions. If indeed Margot Robbie or Cara Delevingne are being sought for the role of Harley Quinn in the film, it would make complete sense to offer a soft reboot for the Joker in Suicide Squad before another (if any) big screen encounters down the line with Ben Affleck’s Batman.
Additionally, in a move out of the Marvel playbook, Jesse Eisenberg has been rumored to reprise his Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice role as Lex Luthor in Suicide Squad. While I feel Luthor appearing in Squad waters down the iconic status of the Superman villain, the possibility of having Joker and Luthor share the screen side by side, even if it’s a scene in jail, is nonetheless pretty exciting. But at that point, the movie may as well just be called Legion of Doom.
As of now, there are already way too many major characters set to appear in BvS: DoJ, so this Joker appearance may be the best way to further build the DC cinematic universe, especially since Suicide Squad hits the big screen on August 5, 2016, less than five months after BvS: DoJ.
Leto has proven his utmost commitment when in comes to physically transforming himself for a role, we all are well aware of what he did for Dallas Buyers Club, and that performance won him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. And truth be told, he resembles the comic book version of the Joker far more than either Heath Ledger or Jack Nicholson did.
C’mon Internet, in the sense of rebooting the character, let’s all agree is this a kick ass casting rumor we should hope to prove true. But let’s also throw this on to of the casting rumor carousel until more fuel is added to this scoop from The Wrap.
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