After years of internet petitions and impassioned social media campaigns that got a bit… weird and problematic at points, the fact that the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League is actually happening was already a big enough punchline. But the long and twisting saga of Zack Snyder’s DC Comics team-up film is not complete and the joke is once again on us! Or rather, the Joker is once again on us as Jared Leto is set to reprise his role as the Clown Prince of Crime in the upcoming re-release.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news last night that the Oscar-winning Leto will join the likes of Ben Affleck, Ray Fisher, and Amber Heard to shoot additional scenes that are currently underway. Leto played the Joker in 2016’s Suicide Squad (which was produced by Snyder) to controversial effect as he and director David Ayer concocted what they thought would be a twisted, modern take on the character, but which just came across as try-hard with its “DAMAGED” forehead tattoos, metal “grill”, and LED-decked Lamborghini. Saying fans did not take kindly to it, is an understatement.
Ironically, after Leto had hyped up his character, some last-minute studio meddling meant that most of his scenes in Suicide Squad ended up on the editing room floor and all of that bluster was for nothing. But I guess that if Snyder can get a chance to realize his original vision of Justice League before a personal tragedy and more studio meddling took it away from him, then Leto gets to be Joker again. I GUESS!
As far as we know, Leto was never part of Snyder’s original plans for Justice League and there wasn’t even a hint of him in Joss Whedon’s theatrical cut of the film, so I don’t expect him to have a big role here. But with Snyder turning his film into a four-hour-long four-episode event series on HBO Max that will reportedly cost an additional $70 million on top of its already massive original price tag, there is certainly room for Leto’s Joker.
Know who won’t have room though? Jon Berg and Geoff Johns. The DC Entertainment execs who produced Justice League originally and spearheaded appointing Whedon as the new director on the film with all its changes when Snyder stepped down, will not be getting a producer’s credit this time around. THR’s sources indicate that this is purely academic as they didn’t work on this version of the project. There is, of course, the little issue of Berg and Johns being involved in the very messy accusations made by Cyborg actor Ray Fisher about the duo being aware of and covering up on-set abuse and misconduct by Whedon during the 2017 shoot. According to THR’s sources though, Berg and Johns were always intending to split from the production long before these allegations came to light. Suuuuuure.
Sadly, none of these sources appear to mention anything about the inclusion of Amber Heard here. The Aquaman actress has been embroiled in her own private fiasco after very public and ridiculously messy divorce proceedings from Johnny Depp revealed that she’s done some pretty nasty things. We’ll have to see how the fandom feels about getting more of both her Mera and Leto’s Joker when Zack Snyder’s Justice League finally drops on HBO Max sometime early next year.
Last Updated: October 22, 2020
CodeDisQus
October 22, 2020 at 09:35
This show/movie is just getting WILDER and WILDER….