It has been eight years since Jared Leto first essayed the role of the Joker in Warner Brothers’ Suicide Squad, and then again in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but audiences still cannot get over the fact that the Joker of the DCEU was morbidly underwhelming, despite the slew of inspirations that it drew from.
Despite the criticism that is being hurled at the actor for the portrayal of the character, David Ayer has come to the defense of Leto’s performance, tweeting out in his support. Time and time again, the director has made it known that his vision for the film was not what the studio allowed him to finally release, and it seems to have been the case with his actors too.
David Ayer called Jared Leto’s Joker ‘amazing’
Taking to X to defend the choices that were made by Jared Leto when playing the Joker, David Ayer called it a “shame” that audiences were not able to see what the character could have been under Leto’s direction, had he actually been given the space to work with it.
Shame you never had the chance to see Jared’s actual performance. It’s amazing.
Sorry not sorry. 🫶🏼 https://t.co/Qvpq6KFsMH pic.twitter.com/F1yDwIBO6d— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) March 19, 2024
Fans promptly responded to the Tweet, pointing out that the real potential of the character was revealed with the portrayal of The Joker in the Knightmare sequence of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a character that was remarkably different than what the studio allowed us to see in Suicide Squad.
In fact, we even saw the character interact with Batman, which is considered one of the best scenes of the film, if not the entire franchise. In that one scene, not only was the entire history of the two characters laid bare for the audience to be seen, but it was also able to set up stakes for thier relationship in a manner that would have had a lasting effect on thier dynamic, along with an incredible payoff.
Jared Leto’s Joker was based on some of Zack SNyder’s favorites
The Joker that Jared Leto wanted to play was a result of a slew of inspirations. Be it The Killing Joke, Batman: Detective Comics Issue #1, The Dark Knight Returns, or All-Star Batman and Robin. Leto seems to have studied the character very deeply, pulling from diverse sources. The inclusion of The Dark Knight Returns is particularly interesting, but not surprising.
Zack Snyder‘s Batman took inspiration from The Dark Knight Returns, which makes sense to also be mirrored in the crafting of his antagonist on screen. While audiences were never able to see the character at its most well-crafted, it does not mean that Ayer, Snyder, and Leto did not put the work in for the character. It was simply a victim of studio meddling that caused the actor and the director to deliver subpar material to fans, at a great cost.
