Zack Snyder gave some insight into why he brought back Jared Leto's Joker for his upcoming cut of Justice League. Snyder is returning to the DCEU after he departed the film during post-production in 2017. In addition to repurposing hours of shot footage, Snyder also conducted reshoots for the upcoming four-hour HBO Max cut. Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and Ray Fisher all came back for reshoots late last year, but the biggest surprise of all turned out to be Leto's return as Joker.
Snyder cold-called Leto, asking him to come onboard for some additional scenes. Fans got a first look at Leto's new look in Justice League ahead of the release of the film's trailer on February 14. The trailer ended with a live-action glimpse at Leto's return, reviving the "We live in a society" meme and teasing Batfleck's relationship to Leto's Joker. The scene takes place during one of Batman's Knightmares, but Snyder reveals that there was a purpose in bringing back Leto.
Joker and Batman's history has long been hinted at, but Snyder told I Minutemen that he brought back Leto to flesh out this history in a way that he won't be able to in the future. Snyder says, and many fans would likely agree, that Batman and Joker's conflict is central to the DC universe and to his DCEU specifically. Snyder says that, ultimately, bringing Leto back for Justice League was his small way of giving fans a little taste of that conflict as he originally envisioned it.
It was important to me that Batman and Joker have a scene together. Let's be honest, Batman/Joker are kind of the - that conflict is central to the universe. Frankly, it was a conflict that I had planned for the Knightmare sequence. And so, you know [I] was excited to like, get the opportunity to do it, to have a little taste [of] that. So, I thought it was important for fans to see their Batman and this cinematic universe's Joker coming to some small conflict.
The DCEU films have already made it clear that Batman and Joker have a long history in the cinematic universe. Batman briefly shows up in 2016's Suicide Squad where he captures Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, but it's the nod to the character in Batman v Superman that is really on fans' minds. In the Batcave, Batman has his former partner Robin's suit displayed and splayed across the front are the words, "Hahaha, joke's on you, Batman." Snyder planned to explore Robin's death in a Justice League sequel, but that's unlikely to happen now that Snyder has exited the DCEU alongside Affleck.
Snyder's Justice League is likely his last chance to leave his mark on the DCEU and the director is absolutely right in that you can't have Batman and Joker in the same universe without exploring the characters' dynamic. Leto seems more than willing to return to the DCEU time and again, so it's possible we could see him again with another Batman, but Affleck is all but done with the franchise. Justice League is the last chance to see the pair on screen together and Snyder is doing right by fans by bringing them together.
Source: I Minutemen
