Jared Leto Reportedly Tried To Stop Joaquin Phoenix's JOKER Movie From Being Made
Jared Leto was not happy about Todd Phillips directing a solo Joker movie with Joaquin Phoenix. When he found out about it, he was apparently so angry and frustrated that he attempted to kill the project and stop it from being made!
According to THR, the actor “complained bitterly to his agents at CAA”, who also represent Todd Phillips, and he asked his music manager, Irving Azoff, to call the head of Warner’s parent company to get the studio to kill the film. The report goes on to say:
A source in Leto’s camp denies that the actor made this request, and Azoff declined to comment, but a person with knowledge of the situation says Azoff never made the call. Azoff and Leto have since parted ways.
Leto was supposed to get his own solo Joker movie as well at one point, but then Phillips and Phoenix came along with their idea and WB decided to move forward with that one instead. The studio was really worried about this movie, even with the small budget, but in the end, it ended up making a ton of money at the box office which surprised the hell out of WB. Apparently the studio was hoping that the small budget they gave Phillips would discourage him from making it.
I doubt most fans are going to throw a fuss about Leto not getting his own Joker movie. At this point, I’m pretty sure we’ll never see him in the role again, which I’m fine with. I never really cared for his version of the character anyway. One source explained, "How do you play the Joker you established following [Phoenix]? It kind of ends his Joker run.” Although, I do understand why Leto would be frustrated with the situation.
The whole thing apparently also may have caused some relationship issues with his agents at CAA. Leto “felt his agents should have told him about the Phillips project earlier and fought harder for his version of Joker. Sources say Leto told his agents that they should stop the rival project, arguing that he wasn’t being treated properly as an Oscar winner (for Dallas Buyers Club). But a person with first-hand knowledge of the situation contends that by then, Leto had burned through four different teams of agents at CAA and there was little love for the actor there.”
Over the summer Leto ended up leaving CAA for another agency, WME. Reps for the actor deny that the competing Joker movies factored into his decision.
Leto's rep reached out to say that the actor is still happily working with Warner Bros. and notes that he's currently shooting John Lee Hancock’s Little Things, starring alongside Rami Malek and Denzel Washington, there.
What do you think about all this? Are you going to miss Leto’s Joker, or do you think he should come back for another DC movie?