He may have played the eternally gurning and grinning Joker, but it’s hard not to sense how much Jared Leto wanted to be taken seriously The stories of his method acting on set were legendary. But much of his performance ended up on the cutting room floor, leaving the sense the audience never really got the chance to see what he could have done with the role. There had been hopes he would resurface in the upcoming Harley Quinn spin-off but these appear to have faded. Surely, then, he would be back in the Suicide Squad reboot? Apparently not.
The 2021 film is already a mixed bag of some returning stars and other recast roles.
Robbie is currently listed to return as Harley Quinn with Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flagg, Jai Cortney’s Captain Boomerang and Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller.
However, it seems Will Smith might be replaced by Idris Elba as Deadshot.
As for Leto’s Joker, could he really be replaced by Phoenix?
The simple fact is no, not at all.
Even though Phoenix’s incarnation is proiving a huge hit, there is no way he can cross into the Suicide Squad movie.
Joker filmmakers have stressed that this is an entirely separate universe, unconnected to any of the main Warner Bros DC comics big or small screen outings so far. It is standing resolutely apart from the main superhero and supervillain storylines.
Joker even has its own incarnations of the Wayne family, which have nothing to do with what has been seen so far in the DCEU.
Suicide Squad reboot director James Gunn explained whey there is no need for Joker this time around.
Gunn said: “No one but me and a few others know all the characters in the movie, but if the Joker isn’t in the film, I don’t think it would be strange as he isn’t a part of the Suicide Squad in the comics.”
It’s a slightly convoluted way of putting it, but it certainly sounds like there is no place form the clown prince of crime.
Leto did not hide his unhappiness at how much of his performance was cut from the original Suicide Squad. There have also been reports from Hollywood of his displeasure that Warner Bros went ahead with another Joker incarnation while his own version was still, technically, in play.
It seems, though, that Leto’s Joker will go down as a great missed opportunity that fans will never see come to fruition.
