Joker (DC Extended Universe)

Actor Jared Leto reportedly never broke character during the production of Suicide Squad and carried out numerous antics with his fellow cast members.

Academy Award-winning actor and musician Jared Leto was cast to portray the Joker in the 2016 film Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer.[2] Leto described his role as "nearly Shakespearean" and a "beautiful disaster of a character;" about portraying the villain, he stated, "I took a pretty deep dive. But this was a unique opportunity and I couldn't imagine doing it another way. It was fun, playing these psychological games. But at the same time it was very painful." In preparation for the role, Leto utilized method acting similar to Heath Ledger's preparation for his own performance; he spent his time alone, listened to gospel music from the 1920s—commenting he senses "Joker may be much older than people think"—and read literature on shamanism. Influences for the character's appearance include the work of Alejandro Jodorowsky.[3] The Joker's tattoos were added by Ayer, who believed it gave the character a modernized gangster look.[4] Leto had also shaven his eyebrows for the role.[5]

Leto never broke character throughout filming, with Will Smith, who portrayed Deadshot, going as far as stating he never met him.[3] In addition, Viola Davis, who portrayed Amanda Waller, later stated in an interview that during the early stages of filming, Leto had a "henchman" leave a dead pig on a table in the rehearsal room, unsettling Davis until she "snapped out of it" and used the incident to motivate her own performance, and that Leto had also given Harley Quinn actress Margot Robbie a live black rat in a box. Davis commented that Robbie "screamed, and then she kept it."[6][7] Other "Joker-esque gifts" to the cast members included ammunition given to Smith, used condoms, anal beads, and a video of Leto in-character shown to everyone, which "blew their minds", according to Slipknot actor Adam Beach.[8][9] Leto later commented on his antics, saying that despite "freaking everybody out", the point was to "inspire some chaos and insanity on this set."[10]

Due to the film's difficult production, similar to that of Justice League, many of Leto's scenes were ultimately left out of the film's final cut, though he appears extensively in additional footage added in the film's extended cut.[11][12] An interview with Leto revealed that he was upset over the removal of his work, which he called "enough material for a whole movie".[13][14]

In Birds of Prey, an uncredited body double portrays the Joker, providing a back-shot of the character as he is seen tatooing another man's face with Harley Quinn. Leto did not appear in the film purportedly due to his role in the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters film Morbius and the release of Todd Phillips' film about the Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix.[15]

Upon Zack Snyder's Justice League being greenlit, Leto's Joker was added to the story despite not being planned to appear in the original theatrical cut, and will be redesigned for the "Snyder Cut".[16]

Zack Snyder revealed that the Joker was originally set to debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice alongside the Riddler, but both characters were cut from the film.[17] Nonetheless, Joker is alluded to in the film, having killed Batman's protégé Dick Grayson some time prior to the events of the film. Bruce Wayne keeps Grayson's vandalized suit, scribbled with the words "HAHAHA Joke's on you BATMAN", on display in a glass case in his memory. In addition, Bruce alludes to the Joker when being interviewed by Clark Kent, mentioning that he had a "bad history with freaks dressed like clowns."

Joker makes his DCEU on-screen debut in Suicide Squad. Through flashbacks, Joker is seen slowly manipulating his prison psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Margot Robbie) during his sessions with her, getting her to fall in love with him. He later persuades her to release him, subjecting her to shock therapy in retaliation for her using it on him, and making her jump in acid to prove her love for him, just as he had developed his psychotic persona and appearance through his own accident with falling into acid. The incident drives Quinzel, whom he dubs "Harley Quinn", just as insane as the Joker and gives her a similar disfigurement as him. The duo terrorize Gotham City as partners in crime and become, as Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) describes, the "Criminal King and Queen" in the city.

Joker and Harley eventually kill Dick Grayson, who was serving as Robin, resulting in Batman (Ben Affleck) smashing in Joker's teeth in vengeance and sending him to Arkham Asylum, after which Joker tattoos the word "DAMAGED" on his own forehead and dons a pair of grills to mask his injuries. Upon Joker escaping from Arkham, Batman once again tracks him and Harley down in a speeding car, which drives into the river. This results in Harley's capture by Batman and incarceration while Joker escapes.

Upon discovering Harley had been recruited by Waller into a covert task force of convicts on a suicide mission to take down Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), Joker breaks into Belle Reve Penitentiary and tortures a security guard into revealing the facility where the Suicide Squad's members are being monitored, then blackmails an A.R.G.U.S. scientist into disabling Harley's monitoring device, which also contains a bomb to execute her should she attempt to escape. Joker then arrives in a helicopter in an attempt to extract Harley from the group, but his helicopter is shot down by Waller's guards and he is presumed killed, forcing Harley to rejoin the squad. However, Joker survives unscathed and later breaks Harley out after she is put back into prison following the Suicide Squad's successful operation, albeit with ten years removed from her sentence.

By the events of Birds of Prey, Joker breaks up with Harley Quinn, dumping her in the streets of Gotham City. The character appears in flashback scenes via archival footage of Jared Leto and a body double, in addition to appearing in animated form during the prologue. Joker's absence from Harley's life is a pivotal element in her character development in the film, as she is forced to adapt and survive without his presence and protection.

On October 22, 2020, it was reported that Leto would reprise his role as the Joker in Zack Snyder's upcoming director's cut of Justice League, for additional shoots.[18] This would make Leto the first actor to portray the Joker in two live-action films.[19]