Jared Leto's Joker's "We live in a society" line gets a second life in a deleted scene from Zack Snyder's Justice League. The Snyder Cut of the movie released on HBO Max in March after a years-long campaign. Unlike the 2017 theatrical version of Justice League, the new one comes in at over four hours long. The extra time allows for more substantial story arcs for characters like Cyborg and The Flash. The Snyder Cut also includes a few characters who weren't in the original movie, including the big bad Darkseid. Leto's Joker is one of these new characters, appearing in the film's much-discussed Knightmare scene at the end.
Leto's return as the Joker in Justice League was announced in October 2020. It came as a shock, considering Leto's performance is quite controversial and he hasn't played the villain since 2016's Suicide Squad. Joker's role in the film is surprising as well, as the Knightmare scene shows he's formed an uneasy alliance with Batman alongside Deathstroke and Mera. Leto also provided one of the trailer's most talked about moments thanks to his "We live in a society" line, a reference to a popular Joker meme. However, the moment wasn't included in the final version of Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Now, Snyder has revealed the deleted scene featuring the line. It plays out similarly to the way it does in the Justice League Snyder Cut's final version, but it's still exciting to see Joker's "We live in a society" moment in context. Check out the scene below:
It could be argued that particular quote from the Joker played an essential role in the marketing for the Justice League Snyder Cut. It was a clever way to get people talking about the movie and specifically Leto's role. It provided a fun nod to the Joker meme, while also increasing anticipation for the full Knightmare scene. It also made more casual viewers aware of the Snyder Cut as a whole, increasing the likelihood they would check it out.
Though the line doesn't change the sequence's overall tone, it does further highlight the complex dynamic between Batman and Joker. Unfortunately, audiences likely won't see more of that in the future, thanks to DC and Warner Bros. not moving forward with the sequels to Zack Snyder's Justice League. In the meantime, though, hopefully the director continues to reveal scenes like this one that further explore the relationship between the two complicated characters.
Source: Zack Snyder
