The Joker is arguably the most iconic DC villain of all time. Heath Ledger did comic book fans proud with his portrayal of the psychotic baddie in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, and the character will return to the screen in the upcoming Suicide Squad to continue the character's incredible legacy. Aside from Oscar winner Jared Leto’s casting, however, details on his portrayal have been shrouded in mystery. That has changed today, as some highly spoiler-y descriptions of the film’s plot have arrived online. So, proceed with caution.
SPOILER WARNING: What follows may contain spoiler information for David Ayer's Suicide Squad. If you do not wish to know any big details about the film prior to its release, we would recommend heading to another one of our articles.
Leto’s got some pretty big shoes to fill, but if these spoilers are true, we’re pretty excited to see him in action. Latino Review has pretty much mapped out the entire story arc of the film, the details of which they’ve gathered from two inside sources with connections to the project. In terms of this latest vision of the Joker, both say he’ll be a Hannibal Lecter-type character, remaining in a cell for almost the entirety of the film. That being said, though, he has also been described as one of the three most important characters in the movie.
Now for the blatant spoilers. We should all be taking these details with a grain of salt, but these next few bits will totally ruin any mystery some of you are hoping to maintain.
According to the source Deadshot and Quinn are picked up early on in the film and imprisoned in Belle Reve, the famous high-security prison run by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) that houses many villains. Joker is moved to the facility as a means of keeping Quinn in check after she’s enlisted into the Suicide Squad. As we said, the killer clown is kept confined for most of the film, until the end leads to a jail break, during which he is unleashed unto the world once again.
It’s important to note that LR has been wrong about some Suicide Squad details in the past, but this is at least fun to think about. The character is so important in the history of DC Comics, that surely this DC Cinematic Universe version is being set up for big things post-Suicide Squad as well, With another solo Batman movie rumored to be a part of the upcoming line-up, might Joker have some part to play?
Leto has been extremely hesitant to reveal any details about his take on Joker, no matter how small or vague, so at least we’ve now got something to go on in terms of what to expect from Suicide Squad. We also know that Will Smith will be Deadshot, Margo Robbie will portray Harley Quinn, Jai Courteney has been cast as Boomerang, and model-turned-actress Cara Delevigne will become Enchantress - plus the new report "confirms" that Jesse Eisenberg will appear as Lex Luthor. While Hardy has dropped out as Waller’s right-hand man Rick Flag, reportedly over a major change to his character, Nightcrawler star Jake Gyllenhaal is rumored to replace him.
We’re anxious to see this team get together when the film debuts on August 5, 2016, but we’re also dying to know more about Joker. Our biggest hope is that Leto can bring something knew to the character we haven’t seen before from his previous cinematic renderings, while remaining faithful to the character’s psychopathic spirit.
