Zack Snyder Reveals New Look at Jared Leto’s Joker From The Knightmare Timeline in JUSTICE LEAGUE
Zack Snyder is once again giving fans something to talk about. The filmmaker has shared a new behind-the-scenes photo from Snyder’s Justice League, offering another eerie look at Jared Leto’s Joker from the dystopian Knightmare timeline. The haunting image adds even more weight to one of the most unsettling chapters in the DC Extended Universe.
In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it was established that The Joker murdered Robin, echoing a familiar storyline from the comics where the Clown Prince of Crime brutally killed Jason Todd.
That tragedy became one of the darkest moments in Batman’s history, symbolized by the display of Robin’s suit in the Batcave, a grim reminder of the Dark Knight’s greatest failure.
However, Snyder has hinted that the Robin killed in his version of the DCEU wasn’t Jason Todd but Dick Grayson, a twist that would’ve borrowed elements from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Strikes Again. It’s one of several storylines Snyder hoped to explore if given the chance to continue his saga.
While Suicide Squad placed The Joker front and center, it barely scratched the surface of his relationship with Batman. Aside from a brief chase sequence, the film focused more on Harley Quinn than the Harlequin of Hate himself.
That changed during the closing moments of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Fans were transported to a post-apocalyptic world, Earth ravaged by Darkseid and a corrupted Superman under the influence of the Anti-Life Equation.
In a wild twist, Batman and The Joker were working together, forming an uneasy alliance to stop Superman’s reign of terror.
Now, with Snyder’s newly released image, fans get another look at that twisted version of Leto’s Joker. Alongside the photo, Snyder once again shed light on how these two mortal enemies ended up on the same side.
"Our theory is that [the Joker is] the one who knows where the Kryptonite, what shards of Kryptonite exist," Snyder previously said of what brought Batman and The Joker together.
"He has that information. And so he's being carried...he has basically made a deal with Batman. 'Don't kill me, and I'll show you. I'll get you a tool to fight Superman.'"
"And so [Batman] is kind of stuck with him, in that way. If he kills him, or gets rid of him, then he's screwed himself."
Snyder also discussed what The Joker might have done to Robin, leaving fans with a chilling implication about that tragedy.
"At that point, [Batman’s] real vulnerability was Robin. What’s obvious is that the Joker understood that. Clearly, he blew him up. Or, it looks like he burned or scorched him."
As for Leto, his time as The Joker is over. After high-profile misfires like Morbius and TRON: Ares, it’s unlikely Warner Bros. will revisit his version of the character. Still, fans can’t help but wonder what might have been if Snyder had been allowed to finish his Justice League trilogy.
For now, this latest behind-the-scenes glimpse serves as a reminder of the dark, ambitious world Snyder built. It’s haunting, tragic, and endlessly fascinating—just like his take on the DC Universe.