Few films are quite as divisive as the DC Extended Universe's Suicide Squad. David Ayer's blockbuster was highly anticipated as the film assembled its cast and began filming, and things reached a fever pitch thanks to some fantastic trailers featuring Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". But following the negative reaction to Batman v Superman, numerous reshoots and edits changed the film, resulting in a disjointed final product that elicited a "meh" from critics. And now it turns out that one of the film's most noteworthy stars hasn't even seen it. Despite making headlines for his onset behavior, Jared Leto has yet to watch Suicide Squad. Here's why.
No, I never did. I just think with watching your own films, it can be too self-conscious of a process. You either like what you did and you're prone to repeat it, or you didn't like it, and it can make you self-conscious. I'm not sure how much win there is for me. But I read the scripts, so I know what's going to happen.
Well, this does make some sense. Seeing yourself onscreen can be a bit cringeworthy, so it stands to reason that Jared Leto may not want to watch the finished product. But considering how seriously Leto takes his craft, it seems a bit surprising that he wouldn't watch his work come to fruition.
Jared Leto's comments to SyFy Wire isn't solely about his work in Suicide Squad, but also his Academy Award winning performance in Dallas Buyers Club. Leto apparently hasn't watched his stunning performance as the fictional transgender woman Rayon. It appears that he's just too critical of himself, and is therefore be unable to enjoy sitting in a theater and watching his craft on the silver screen.
While Jared Leto's aversion to watching Dallas Buyers Club may be surprising, Suicide Squad is far less so. Because while Leto's role as The Joker was highly publicized before the film's release, a ton of his scenes actually ended up on the cutting room floor. Eventually an extended director's cut was released when the film arrived for home purchase, which contained many of the scenes between The Joker and Harley Quinn that didn't make it into theaters. Even so, Leto seemed tiffed that so much of his work was cut from the film, resulting in The Joker being a strange tertiary character in the villain-centric film.
And DC has only added insult to injury on the Jared Leto Joker front. Because while a spinoff is being developed for Joker and Harley, the DC will also release a Joker origin story that won't star Leto. It looks like the fan reaction to Leto's performance has affected the studio's decision, and there's no telling what till happen to Leto's characterization over the next few years.
The next installment in the DCEU will be Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon's Justice League on November 17th. In the meantime, check out our 2017 release list to plan your final trips to the movies before the New Year.
