Jared Leto's Joker does a Jesus Christ pose in a new image from Zack Snyder's Justice League. After replacement helmer Joss Whedon's cut of DC's highly anticipated superhero team-up film failed to satisfy fans of dark and gritty comic book movies, hashtag-fueled social media outcry to "release the Snyder cut" led to Warner Bros. ultimately relenting and letting original director Snyder put together his own version of Justice League.
Now set for release on HBO Max on March 18, 2021, Snyder's Justice League promises to be a very different experience than the theatrical version of the film, and a big reason for this is the somewhat surprising addition of Leto's take on classic Batman villain the Joker. Leto of course was roundly criticized for his take on Joker in David Ayer's Suicide Squad, but Snyder nevertheless elected to give Leto another chance at playing the character in his version of Justice League. Fans have already been given a small taste of what Leto will look like in the Snyder cut, and anticipation is building for what his Joker will add to the mix in what many fans consider to be the "real" Justice League movie.
As part of Vanity Fair's comprehensive new article breaking down the tortured history of the Snyder Cut, fans have been given another look at Leto's Justice League Joker, and there's a definite Biblical quality to the latest image which can be seen in the space below:
As was already teased in prior images of the character, Leto's Justice League Joker has a different look from the "gangster Joker" presented in Suicide Squad. In addition to sporting longer hair than he had in Ayer's 2016 film, Joker is also wearing a much less gaudy costume this time around, sporting a tattered frock, rubber gloves and (in a possible nod to COVID) a facemask. His makeup is also very different, and there is no sign of the facial tattoos the character had during his apparent SoundCloud rapper phase in Suicide Squad.
The new image of course adds an important touch to Joker's relatively toned-down look, giving him a crown of thorns familiar from hundreds of years of artistic depictions of Jesus. This now gives Joker something in common with Kanye West, who was widely criticized when he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing a similar crown. What this image is meant to say about Joker is anyone's guess, though of course it's already been teased that Joker and Batman are on the same side in the new version of Justice League, so perhaps the Jesus parallel is meant to suggest the Clown Prince of Crime becomes a kind of savior in the Snyder Cut. Or maybe Joker is just a big fan of Mel Gibson and wanted to pay tribute to the filmmaker's blockbuster Passion of the Christ. Either way, anticipation for the Snyder Cut only continues to build as the countdown rolls on to the film's long-awaited release on HBO Max.
Source: Vanity Fair
