Arguably no villain has become more flexible and usable for writers and filmmakers than Batman's arch nemesis, The Joker. Over the years the character has gone from a slightly unhinged clown, to a psychopathic mass murderer, and back again. His lack of a definitive origin story means that artists can do quite a bit with him, and sometimes they go all out. With the imminent release of Suicide Squad, many fans have speculated wildly as to whether or not The Joker will have an insane new origin in the upcoming movie -- something David Ayer has finally shot down once and for all.
During a recent red carpet interview with Chris Van Vliet in Miami, Suicide Squad director David Ayer opened up regarding the fan theory that The Joker is actually Jason Todd a.k.a Robin. He said:
That The Joker is Jason Todd. It ain't the case. He's not.
From day one this has been one of the most fascinating fan theories we have been able to find for Suicide Squad -- not to mention one of the most divisive. Many fans speculated that Jared Leto's Joker is actually Jason Todd, who had become warped into becoming the new Joker after a period of torture. This theory seemingly became further corroborated by the fact that The Joker's tattoos hint at a strong connection with The Boy Wonder, and the fact that Bruce Wayne laments how few good guys "stayed that way," during the events of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
We can't say that we're surprise by this revelation. The idea of Joker as Jason Todd was always a long shot, and this early on in the DCEU it likely could have represented a major gamble with such an iconic character; a vocal section of the Internet has already voiced vehement disapproval of the idea. Now it looks like the Joker we see in Suicide Squad will be the very same one who killed Robin, warped Harley Quinn's mind, and generally made Batman's life hell for two decades.
All that being said, there's still precedent for this sort of twist to happen in a live-action movie at some point. A version of this storyline was shown in the legendary animated film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, in which Tim Drake became The Joker of Neo-Gotham. Additionally, the events that transpired in last year's Batman: Arkham Knight clearly showed another story in which Jason Todd's mind became warped by the manipulation of Mr. J himself. Did this fan theory present us with an absolutely bonkers storyline? Absolutely. Was it without merit? Absolutely not.
While Jared Leto's Joker probably won't turn out to be Jason Todd in Suicide Squad, we're still insanely excited for what the rock star will do with the character. We will know for sure exactly what he brings to the legendary DC villain when David Ayer's Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5. Stay tuned for more details!
