Script leaks from the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad provide several details of how the film was changed from director David Ayer’s original vision, including a different personality for the Joker. Since the film's release in 2016, Ayer has been vocal on Twitter about how the film's theatrical cut doesn't resemble his intended story. The biggest question surrounding the Ayer Cut is the depiction of Jared Leto's Joker, with the director going so far as to claim nobody has seen Leto's real performance.
Suicide Squad’s Clown Prince of Crime sparked controversy from the moment the first official image of the tattooed psychopath was revealed. However, there was still considerable disappointment at the severe lack of screen time for Leto’s divisive Joker performance, with much of his work left on the cutting room floor. Suicide Squad reduced the Joker's role to a flashy gangster solely determined to reunite with Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. His abuse of Harley was apparently removed from the final film for being overly dark, only to recklessly romanticize Mr. J.
The promise of the Joker being restored to his menacing self has dominated calls for releasing the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad. Recent script leaks on Twitter, courtesy of RTAyerCutSS, do indeed boast a larger role for a significantly darker Joker, but they also tease characterization different from what reached the screen. The clown is a greater threat, but he's also much more playful and exhibits feelings for Harley that paint a more complex portrayal, albeit an even more toxic one.
Suicide Squad’s Joker didn't possess a sense of humor befitting the infamous clown. This element was stripped from Jared Leto's interpretation in the editing room but is present in the script leaks. The theatrical cut removed an archetypical Joker moment: his interrogation of Judge Witman for Harley's whereabouts. Only, mere threats don't entertain the Joker. Instead, he waits in the judge's bed and is mistaken by Witman for his wife. In true Joker fashion, the Ayer Cut adds a great dose of theatricality to his actions. The Joker normally commits crimes that he finds funny, injecting wacky showmanship into his schemes to elevate him beyond the transgressions of an ordinary gangster. Ayer's original Suicide Squad script lets Leto's Joker deliver some jokes, finding a sick sense of fun in his brutality. Gleefully taunting Witman and commenting on Monster T's splattered brains provides a more jovial Joker than his too serious theatrical version.
The Ayer Cut's Joker is less fixated on rescuing Harley and more interested in creating chaos - a true wild card. Yet, he still appears to have a slightly softer side, hidden deep beneath his toxic exterior. Suicide Squad’s script leaks don’t shy away from his violence, but the Joker clearly harbors some feelings for Harley, which continually prevent him from killing her. Ayer’s script teases a broken, sad clown wrestling with his emotions. Lying naked in the fetal position in one scene, drunk and depressed in another, he seemingly yearns for Harley’s return – to what end is unclear, but it seems clear that the Joker fears her independence and new relationships, like Harley and Deadshot’s cut romance. This Joker is less lovesick and more confused by his need for her, uncomfortable without an unhealthy total control over both of their lives. These leaks suggest Ayer planned to explore the Joker’s obsession with Harley, not solely the other way around.
Suicide Squad’s theatrical cut does retain some evocative elements, such as the tuxedoed Joker cackling from a hijacked helicopter. However, David Ayer’s script promises a homicidal jester more in tune with his personality in the comics. Jared Leto’s original Joker revels in his madness but also has more depth, undergoing an internal struggle over his reluctant affection for Harley.
