In the lead-up to Suicide Squad, Jared Leto developed quite the reputation for his portrayal of Joker from his refusal to break character during principal photography and the unusual gifts he passed along to his co-stars. When the movie finally came out, Leto's iteration of the Clown Prince of Crime didn't have that much screen time, though he still left a...unique impression. In the end, the DCEU's Joker escaped to cause chaos another day, and now Leto has posted an image hinting perhaps that he has more planned with the cackling villain.
Jared Leto posted the above picture on Snapchat yesterday, which is the cover of Batman: The Killing Joke, the one-shot story written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland that is also arguably the most famous Joker tale from the comics. Leto didn't provide any context for why he was sharing the image, so it's hard to say whether he's just teasing the fans or if he's alluding to something in the works. With Ben Affleck's Batman movie, Gotham City Sirens (which stars Harley Quinn) and even Suicide Squad 2 in development, there are several opportunities for Joker to return down the line. It's also worth noting isn't the first time that Leto has taken a picture that paid homage to The Killing Joke. During Suicide Squad's production, there was a picture of him holding a camera in the same position as seen above while rocking Joker's green hair.
Published in 1988, Batman: The Killing Joke depicted one of Batman most emotional conflicts ever with The Joker, while also flashing back to how the latter became a super villain. Although the story primarily revolves around The Caped Crusader and Clown Prince of Crime, it's arguably most famous for showing Joker shooting and crippling Barbara Gordon. This ended her career as Batgirl for decades, but she was later brought back as Oracle. The Killing Joke was adapted as an animated movie last year, with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprising Batman and Joker, respectively.
Showing that photo of The Killing Joke cover would be enough to pique curiosity, but Jared Leto also posted this other photo of a decorated tooth that's been placed inside a purple Gucci box. I truly don't know what this image is supposed to mean. This is more analogous to those weird gifts Leto delivered while Suicide Squad was shooting, i.e. bizarre and questionable.
After Suicide Squad was released to the public, Jared Leto was reportedly upset that so much of his Joker performance had been cut from the final version, and the Extended Cut home media release only added two-three extra minutes of him. Still, it appears like Leto may not be quite done with the Clown Prince of Crime, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for any updates regarding his possible return to the DCEU.
