Jared Leto's Feelings in Response to Losing His Role of Joker Were Allegedly "Alienated and Upset"

We’ve had quite a lot of actors play the Batman villain Joker over the years. Way back in 1966, we had Cesar Romero, then Jack Nicholson in 1989. Then the game was changed when Heath Ledger came on the scene in 2008 and stunned everyone with his portrayal. He was dark, but funny and crazy in a way that kept you intrigued and fascinated by the character. Next we saw Jared Leto play the role in the 2016 film, The Suicide Squad. But that film was an ensemble villain film, and it was not well received by audiences. It was also said that many of his scenes were left on the cutting room floor, so his opportunity to really shine in the role seemed to be cut short. Leto was vocal in saying that he would be open to play the character again if given the opportunity.

Not long after though, the world caught wind of the standalone origin film, Joker, that was being created by Todd Phillips, who had written the script specifically with actor Joaquin Phoenix in mind. Through the uncertain fog of the post-Leto performance, here’s what THR said went down:

In 2016, Phillips pitched former Warners chief Kevin Tsujihara and former production co-president Greg Silverman his original idea that would stand alone from the interconnecting DC film storylines featuring Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Toby Emmerich, now Warners film chief, loved the script co-written by Phillips and Scott Silver, but questioned whether it needed to live in the DC Universe at all, lest it be dubbed "dark" like the label that was then sticking to its movies.

Tsujihara and Emmerich greenlit Joker, which cost less than $70 million, leaving Jared Leto — who played Joker in Suicide Squad — alienated and upset by the move. 

That makes sense. I did like Leto’s portrayal. I thought that with a fuller film, he could have been great as the Joker. But it isn’t Phillips’s fault that he wrote a script with a specific actor in mind. And James Gunn’s reboot of The Suicide Squad doesn’t seem to have a place for the character. So while it’s unfortunate, and I totally get Leto’s feelings, I don’t think there’s anyone to blame. It seems like the final nail is in the coffin on Leto’s Joker, but who knows? Would you want to see him play the role again?