Zack Snyder teases how the Joker fits into his Justice League. Next year, the filmmaker's original version of the project will release via HBO Max, after the 2017 theatrical cut significantly changed his vision, essentially making it a different narrative altogether.
Thanks to the relentless campaign of the Release the Snyder Cut movement, Snyder has been given a chance to put out his planned version of Justice League to the public. Set to drop on HBO Max, the film is essentially reformatted into a four-part miniseries, allowing the director to include more stories in it. Aside from all the plots that were sidelined by the theatrical cut such as Superman's proper resurrection and Cyborg's full arc, the project will also feature the return of the DCEU's Joker, played by Jared Leto.
While Snyder can't get into the specifics about what the Clown Prince of Crime's role will be in Justice League, he teased how he factors into the story. In a new interview with Beyond The Trailer, the filmmaker hints that the Joker and Batman may be working together after they've put their ugly past behind them.
Some water has gone under the proverbial bridge, between when last we saw Joker and this sort of appearance and so...he's a road-weary Joker.
It was fun having a segment of the band together for this little vignette, and you know, working with Jared Leto was really amazing, his attention to detail and he really cares a lot about being awesome and so, you know, it was fun and everyone did an amazing level, and even trying to shoot in COVID is you know is a bit of a deal, but everyone brought huge A-game and really wanted to be cool and I couldn't be happier with what those guys did and it's just really cool and good fun...it's really the only thing that I've added outside of the you know outside of the original photography.
As Snyder noted, this potential scene between the Joker and Batman is the only thing that he decided on adding to the upcoming Justice League that's not part of his original plan for the film. What's curious is whether or not he had plans for the Clown Prince of Crime had he been able to push forward with how he initially wanted to execute his DCEU plans. It's worth noting that Snyder supposedly had a five-film narrative laid out for the franchise, with three Justice League movies wrapping it up. Since he now only has this chance to do tell the story he wants to tell, it might be possible that he's making sure that he could include elements he thinks would be really cool to see on the screen. That includes the possible team-up of the iconic arch-rivals.
In any case, bringing Leto back as Joker is a no-lose situation here. While his take on the character was divisive in The Suicide Squad, it's important to remember that he was also barely in the film after the narrative supposedly changed. Director David Ayer even claims that the actor was mistreated during his time in the 2016 villain-centric movie. Since Snyder has the time to do this side-mission in his Justice League, might as well do it. Aside from the unique premise of the scene, it could also properly wrap the DCEU's Joker's arc, which is odd to say considering he barely appeared in the franchise.
