14 DAY TRIAL // Almost one month ago, director David Ayer tweeted the first photo of Jared Leto as The Joker in the upcoming Warner Bros. release “Suicide Squad.” The film will be out in August 2016 and is now shooting on location, and hype around it has been impressive because Leto is supposed to be “taking over” from Heath Ledger as the iconic villain.
When this photo came out, the Internet lost it completely: many thought he would make a terrifying, superb villain, but most commenters found his new look ridiculous, hilarious. Grillz and tattoos seemed too much for a character that was supposed to be terrifying through the things he did and said, not the way he looked.
Apparently, whether you liked it or not, that’s the look Ayer is going for with the character.
Leaked photos show full costume of The Joker
The other day, a video from the set of the film leaked online. Warner Bros. was quick to pull it, but not quick enough: by the time it was blocked, it had already made the rounds online. It was of a scene in which The Joker and his girlfriend, the future villainess Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), get into a fight in the street and he smacks her so hard in the face she drops to the ground unconscious.
The vid had been shot from a distance with a smartphone (most likely), so the quality was anything but ideal. In fact, it was of such low quality that you couldn’t even see the tattoos on The Joker’s exposed chest, which made many fans hope that all that ink had only been added for the promo shot.
The photos in the gallery below are here to show you that this isn’t the case: The Joker has tattoos. He also has a pimped out car, with “Hahaha” vanity plates. He looks like a pimp from a cheap movie, from the flashy car he drives to the clothes he wears, including the open-chested shirt.
On the other hand, in the face, he looks like The Joker we know from previous incarnations, what with the neon green hair, the pale face foundation, the crazy eyes, the red lips and all the mannerisms.
This is a different Joker
Both Ayer and Leto have said this much: knowing that people would inevitably compare this version of The Joker with the one Heath Ledger delivered in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” they made sure to put some distance between the two from the beginning.
Next year’s Joker might be tackier (after all, the guy has the word “Damaged” tattooed on his forehead), but that doesn’t mean that fans should write him off as inferior based on just one official photo and many leaked ones.
In defense of Jared Leto, he’s a very talented actor, known to invest all this time and energy into the role he happens to be playing. He doesn’t take all the offers coming his way: he only accepts the roles he feels passionate about, so that alone should be a guarantee that he won’t be phoning it in.
Ayer has “End of Watch” and “Fury” to recommend him: he is a director who can do gritty better than most filmmakers, while infusing it with humanity.
We should try to reserve judgment on “Suicide Squad” until it comes out in theaters.
The Suicide Squad wishes you a Happy Anniversary Mr. J! #Joker75 #SuicideSquad @WarnerBrosEnt @DCComics pic.twitter.com/LZXz0x947Q
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) April 25, 2015
