Jared Leto recently revealed that he was just as “confused” as the rest of us when Warner Bros. announced a standaloneJoker Origin Moviethat would not have him portraying a young Joker. Warner Bros. has also officially announced that there is aJoker and Harley Quinnmovie in the works, but we’re getting a sequel toSuicide Squadfirst, which will seeThe Accountantdirector, Gavin O’Connor, take over the screenwriting responsibilities as well as directing the project. Filming isn’t expected to start onSuicide Squad 2until fall 2018, but Leto is expected to have a pretty full plate ofJokermaterial in the next few years, just not in the origin story.
It was reported last week that Warner Bros. is actively pursuing Leonardo DiCaprio to play theJokerin the origin story, but that just seems like a really crazy long shot to see DiCaprio jump head first into that project. The initial report also quoted sources close to the project saying that Jared Leto was “shocked and upset” by the announcement from Warner Bros. and it seemed like the actor really didn’t have any idea that the studio was planning to try aJokerproject outside of the DCEU. It seems that the sources were correct this time around, though the actor does not go into detail.
On Demand Entertainmentrecently spoke to Leto about theJoker situation over at Warner Bros. He had this to say.
“I’m a little confused too, but yeah, there are acouple of things happening in the DC worldand I loved the Joker, he’s a great character, a really fun character to play. It’s a big universe and when youplay the Joker, there’s no ownership there. You have the honor of holding the baton for a little while and then passing it off. But there are other films in development and I’m excited to see what comes from them.”
Leto, while originally taken aback from the recent announcements, seems to be looking forward to suiting up again forSuicide Squad 2and theJoker and Harley Quinnstandalone movie. Overall, the actor seems openly positive with the decision now and is really just looking forward to the future.
Warner Bros. and DC are in theearly stages of developingaJokerorigin movie, whichThe Hangover’s Todd Phillips will direct and Martin Scorsese will reportedly produce, though he is not officially attached just yet. It has been heavily rumored that Scorsese is being used to lureLeonardo DiCaprioto the project, but that just seems a little too easy. Then there is theJoker and Harley Quinnmovie, which is expected to star Leto and hisSuicide Squadco-star Margot Robbie who is also set to produce the standalone movie.
Who knows what’s going on at Warner Bros.? Next week they might just announce a Harley Quinn standalone movie outside of the DCEU as well. At this rate, anything is possible for the studio. Let’s just hope that all of these announcements come into fruition and turn into game changers instead of a heap of chaos. For now, the next time that we’ll see Jared Leto as the Joker will be forSuicide Squad 2, which is set to begin production late next year. In the meantime, check out what Leto had to say about the Warner Bros. announcement below.
