David Ayer Shares a New Unseen Image of Jared Leto's Joker in SUICIDE SQUAD
David Ayer has shared another image of Jared Leto’s Joker from his director's cut of Suicide Squad. As you can see, the Joker isn’t sporting his notorious "damaged" head tattoo. Instead, his eyebrows are drawn on. When asked how this take on the Joker would have differed from the version in the theatrically-released film, Ayer said:
"Joker is formidable, intense and a force of nature in my cut. Not unfocused and silly. In my cut, he has a story arc that hangs powerfully over the entire film. In the studio cut he’s a prop not a character."
When previously talking about the original intent of the Joker, Ayer said: “That’s what happens when you hack a performance and character arc to pieces. I’m sorry that’s all you were allowed to see. Now your mind is closed to the truth.”
Ayer has previously talked about his original cut of the film and how it’s so much better than the version that the studio butchered and released in theaters. One thing he said was that the original version of the film was "ripped to pieces," and some of Jared Leto’s "terrifying" scenes as Joker were cut from the film.
When talking about the film, Ayer said: “My cut would be easy to complete. It would be incredibly cathartic for me. It’s exhausting getting your ass kicked for a film that got the Edward Scissorhands treatment. The film I made has never been seen.”
The original cut of the film included “a lot more Joker including a big fight with him in the subway.” It was also explained that the beginning of the film “wasn’t edited like a music video, as all of the flashbacks happened in chronological order.” One of the most important aspects of his original cut was that there was “a very different and clear tone to the Joker and Harley’s relationship, which actually fits better with the opening of Birds of Prey.”
Another fan then reached out and asked about Joker’s face tattoos, and it’s here that Ayer admits that he regrets that decision. He said: “It was Joker trolling Batman after getting his teeth punched in by him. It’s the one aesthetic choice I wish I hadn’t made. Caught a lot of smoke for it obviously.”
Ayer is confident that one day his cut of Suicide Squad will see the light of day, and it seems like a lot of fans want to see that happen. We’ll just have to wait and see!