The Problem with Jared Leto's Joker in Suicide Squad: David Ayer's Revelation

The Depiction of the Joker in Suicide Squad

David Ayer, director of 2016's Suicide Squad, has revealed the problem with the movie's depiction of the Joker, portrayed by Jared Leto throughout the DCEU. Bringing DC Comics' supervillain team into live-action, David Ayer's Suicide Squad brought together the likes of Will Smith's Deadshot, Jai Courtney's Captain Boomerang and Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn as the DCEU's first Suicide Squad, under the guidance of Viola Davis' commanding Amanda Waller. While Amanda Waller, and potentially the Suicide Squad, are expected to be reinvented for DC Studios' rebooted DC Universe, many are still hoping for David Ayer's original vision to come to light, which may give Jared Leto's Joker a more substantive role.

Jared Leto as the Joker looks burned in Suicide Squad

Following its release, 2016's Suicide Squad was met with a range of criticism, with some aimed at the depiction of Jared Leto's Joker in the vibrant DCEU team-up project. Since then, and after the release of 2021's Zack Snyder's Justice League, the director's cut of the DCEU's lackluster 2017 crossover movie, many have been calling for David Ayer's director's cut of Suicide Squad to be developed. With hopes being raised by the Fury and Bright director, David Ayer has now revealed what went wrong with Jared Leto's version of the Joker, and what his director's cut of Suicide Squad could do to make him a more impactful and sinister supervillain.

Joker holds a tool while talking to someone and flanked by guards in Suicide Squad

Twitter article posted by David Ayer

David Ayer's Revelation About His Original Joker Vision

David Ayer's most recent comments on his original vision for Jared Leto's Joker suggest that 2016's Suicide Squad would have depicted a version of the iconic villain vastly different from the one that was brought to life. Noting that the Joker would have been 'formidable, intense and a force of nature,' Ayer suggests the villain would be more menacing in Suicide Squad's director's cut, and would have a much larger role than in the 2016 movie. This would see the Joker have a 'story arc that hangs powerfully over the entire film,' rather than being used simply as a prop to advance the narrative of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn.

Jared Leto as Joker with a gun to his head in Suicide Squad 2016

While the criticized appearance of Jared Leto's Joker remains the same in both the theatrical and director's cut of Suicide Squad, his personality is more volatile, sinister and haunting in the latter. David Ayer previously revealed that he'd met with DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn who promised Suicide Squad's director's cut would be released, so it's possible that audiences will get to see the more brutal and threatening depiction of Jared Leto's Joker, though this will likely be set outside the new DC Universe, similarly to Zack Snyder's Justice League. The release of the director's cut of Suicide Squad may help to redeem Jared Leto's polarizing version of the Joker.

Jared Leto's Joker with Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad