Suicide Squad Never Had Jared Leto’s Joker Dressed As Batman

Director David Ayer has finally put to rest the long-standing rumor that Jared Leto’s Joker was originally meant to wear a Batman suit in Suicide Squad. This never-realized idea, as well as others both real and imagined, if taken together collectively, could be used to create an entire alternate version of Suicide Squad that might arguably be better than the real movie (though enough people liked the real movie to push it to $745 million at the worldwide box office).

As happens before every major studio tentpole movie, especially those involving comic book characters, many rumors swirled about what would happen with the Joker in Suicide Squad. One of the biggest rumors, spurred on by the appearance of an action figure of Joker dressed as Batman, suggested that Leto would don the cowl perhaps as a joke, as part of a flashback, or as part of an actual plotline that had Joker stealing Batman’s duds.

Speaking to fans on Twitter, David Ayer has stuck a fork once-and-for-all in the rumor that early plans for Suicide Squad included a scene where Leto’s Joker put on Batman’s suit. Ayer says that Joker’s Batman cosplay only ever existed in toy form:

David Ayer

✔@DavidAyerMovies

This was only a toy concept. No wardrobe like this was created.https://twitter.com/glennbrown76/status/934810025108951045 …

9:25 PM - Nov 26, 2017

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All that pre-release speculation about the Joker maybe stealing Batman’s suit turned out to be wishful thinking, as many disappointed fans discovered when Suicide Squad was actually released. As it turned out, the Joker and Batman only squared off in a brief flashback providing backstory for Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), which featured Batman riding on the back of Joker’s car and later punching Harley Quinn in the mouth. Also missing from the film was any mention of Robin, debunking an early rumor that the character would somehow play into the film, perhaps as part of a bizarre twist where Joker was actually former Robin Jason Todd.

Ultimately, the Joker and Batman were only included in Suicide Squad as a means of drawing in casual moviegoers who were largely unfamiliar with Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Katana and the other members of the squad. Leto’s bizarre performance as the Joker may be memorable, either for being amazing or terrible depending on your point-of-view, but the character is never integrated into the plot and his appearance amounts to a glorified cameo.

The Joker may have been wasted in Suicide Squad, and Leto’s performance may have turned a lot of people off, but that doesn’t mean DC is giving up on the character or Leto’s version of it. Future plans for the DCEU include a fast-tracked Suicide Squad 2 that may include Leto’s Joker (and will definitely include Robbie’s Harley Quinn) and a Joker-Harley Quinn movie. Outside the DCEU proper, Warner Bros. is looking at making a Joker origin film possibly starring Leonardo DiCaprio instead of Leto and produced by Martin Scorsese. With all these potential Joker-related projects lining up, maybe we’ll one day actually get to see Joker in the Batman suit.

KEY RELEASE DATES
Justice League release date: Nov 17, 2017
Aquaman release date: Dec 21, 2018
Wonder Woman 2 release date: Nov 1, 2019
Shazam! release date: Apr 5, 2019
Cyborg release date: Apr 3, 2020
Green Lantern Corps. release date: Jul 24, 2020