Jared Leto’s Joker Could Return In ‘The Batman’


It’s no secret that Warner Bros.’ latest attempt for a solo Batman film has recently hit a tremendous amount of trouble.

Not only did Ben Affleck recently drop out as director, but there have even been some rumors that he might not even reprise his role as the superhero because of the recent issues. These have died down over the course of the week. Most speculation now insists that Affleck and Warner Bros are both very happy with the latest draft of the script, which suggests that, once they get a new director hired, the project will be back up and running.

A new report from Forbes hasn’t just teased that the new potential release date for The Batman is in 2019, and that War Of The Planet Of The Apes director Matt Reeves is the number one choice to replace Affleck, but it’s also been revealed that Ben Affleck’s original script for The Batman included Jared Leto’s The Joker.

“The story for The Batman originally included the assassin Deathstroke as a main villain, with Joe Manganiello cast in the role, as well as a few other likely villainous appearances by characters including the Joker, according to sources familiar with the project.”

It’s impossible to know if the Joker is still included in the script for The Batman, though, especially because of the upheaval over recent weeks.

[Image by Warner Bros]

There’s also a chance that Jared Leto isn’t actually interested in returning as The Joker, too, as the actor previously alluded to his disappointment with Suicide Squad, which marked his debut as the villain. In the immediate aftermath of Suicide Squad’s release Jared Leto told IGN that his performance had been edited down severely, too.

“Were there any that didn’t get cut? I’m asking you, were there any that didn’t get cut? There were so many scenes that got cut from the movie, I couldn’t even start. I think that the Joker… we did a lot of experimentation on the set, we explored a lot. There’s so much that we shot that’s not in the film.”

Jared Leto even allegedly told a gathering of 30 Second To Mars fans that he felt tricked into the version of the blockbuster that was eventually released. Forbes insist that Jared Leto’s stance has softened in recent months, though.

“He seems to have softened his stance lately and appears interested in a possible return, but whether he will ultimately be part of The Batman or Gotham City Sirens remains to be seen.”

Jared Leto did previously make it clear that he is very interested in starring opposite Ben Affleck’s Batman in the DC Extended Universe, though. The Oscar-winning actor made this admission to the Toronto Sun while out promoting Suicide Squad.

“I think it would be incredible to see Batman and the Joker go head-to-head! This Batman and this Joker. I mean, I don’t know, that might be too much! But that would be fun.”

That was before the critical bashing that Suicide Squad took, though, as well as Jared Leto’s own additional problems with the film, too.

[Image by Warner Bros]

Even Suicide Squad director David Ayer admitted that he had his own issues with how the blockbuster ended up. As recently as January 21st, David Ayer took to Twitter to open up about his problems with Suicide Squad.

“Would I do a lot of things different? Yep, for sure. Wish I had a time machine. I’d make Joker the main villain and engineer a more grounded story. I have to take the good and bad and learn from it. I love making movies and I love DC. I’m a High School dropout and used to paint houses for a living. I’m lucky to have the job I have. I have to give the characters the stories and plots they deserve next time. Real talk. (And no, there isn’t a secret edit of the film with a bunch of Joker scenes hidden in a salt mine somewhere.)

[Featured Image by Warner Bros]

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