With a little over a year before Suicide Squad opens, there is naturally no official marketing campaign in play for the film just yet. But that hasn’t stopped us from getting glimpses of Jared Leto's Joker. Just ask anyone who follows his Instagram, and they'll tell you that he's not been uber generous at providing peeks at his portrayal of The Joker. As you'll see in this latest peek below, he's fulfilling his promise to do something no other Joker has done in the history of the character: he's getting jacked as hell.
Thanks to the actor's official Instagram feed, we got a look at Jared Leto's newly bulky physique. Something that you'll notice is missing in the picture is the tattoos from the previously released promo photo of the Joker, which may confirm that the tattoos aren't part of the character as recently stated. This will undoubtedly please fans who were turned off by the slightly "damaged" image that photo gave the Clown Prince of Crime, but it still raises some questions as to how or why Joker's beefing up.
Beyond just Suicide Squad, it has also been rumored that we will see Jason Todd's untimely death at the hands of The Joker as a scene in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, and the villain being extra muscly would certainly help him in this "endeavor." So for those of you who thought they spotted Jason Todd's costume in the trailer, you're not crazy. Come to think of it, Leto's muscles might be doing more to promote Zack Snyder's 2016 juggernaut than anything, an argument that is only supported by the choice of Bizzaro apparel that Leto is wearing in this photo.
The thought of a "juiced Joker" isn't one that really sits well with the iconography of the character, though. His methodology is more along the wavelength of psychological torture, with brute strength usually being covered by any hired muscle that he brings along for the ride. And even though he did beat Jason Todd pretty badly before his death in the comics, he used a crowbar to do most of the work, and let a time bomb finish the job. Leto's Joker sounds like he's not going to need that crowbar.
Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice is less than a year away, and if we get a good look at the Joker in the first of many future DC films, it could help set the tone for the rest of the films. If that tone is anywhere near what we're seeing come out of Jared Leto's character thus far – camera ready or not – now might be a good time to start becoming afraid. The countdown to March 25th, 2016 just became a little more unbearable, but even if Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice screws the pooch, there's a chance that Suicide Squad could deliver a much needed assist when it opens on August 5th next year.
