Despite the fact that it's been almost two years since Suicide Squad debuted in theaters, fans have continued to dissect the film and pull out new references and Easter eggs. Now that has happened once again, as an eagle-eyed DC Comics fan dove into the Arkham Asylum scenes between pre-Harley Harleen Quinzel (Margot Robbie) and The Joker (Jared Leto) and pulled out a specific reference involving Mr. J's beloved teddy bear. Check out the Easter egg, below.
See it in the background? It looks like the folks at Arkham were kind enough to give Joker a teddy bear to play with in his cell during the events of Suicide Squad, as it sits in the background of the scene between Harley and Joker when he asks her for a machine gun. The bear seems like a simple piece of set dressing, but Joker having a teddy bear in his Arkham cell is actually something that has popped up periodically over the years. Even if it doesn't actually affect the plot, it definitely adds another layer of complexity to the film's overall look.
Moreover, it turns out that this piece of set decoration was not a random afterthought by the folks behind Suicide Squad. In fact, following this reveal of the bear in the background online, Suicide Squad director David Ayer found the picture and actually responded to it by liking it, confirming the Easter egg.
Oddly enough, this isn't the only instance of a stuffed animal playing a role in Suicide Squad's narrative. Elsewhere in that scene between Joker and Harley, Ms. Quinzel gives The Clown Prince of Crime a small stuffed kitten to add to his collection. Beyond that, Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) spends a large chunk of the film's runtime obsessing over his pink stuffed unicorns. We're still trying to figure out the exact meaning of the stuffed animals and how they relate to Suicide Squad as a whole, but it's reasonably clear that quite a bit of thought went into this.
Now we will have to wait and see if this particular element of Joker's personality gets expanded upon even further as the DCEU presses forward. DC is currently developing a number of Harley Quinn-centric movies, such as Suicide Squad 2 and the "Harley Quinn girl gang" movie, so there are plenty of places to include Joker. Additionally, a Joker/Harley romance movie was also announced after the release of Suicide Squad, and while we haven't heard much about that specific project recently, it would be a solid place to continue fleshing out Joker's odd affinity for adorable stuffed animals.
CinemaBlend will bring you more Joker news as more information about the DCEU becomes available to us. Until then, make sure to keep an eye out for James Wan's Aquaman, which will debut later this year on December 21.
