Justice League: Why Jared Leto Feels 'Funny' Talking About Return To Joker For The Snyder Cut

Jared Leto in The Snyder Cut

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It's an exciting time for comic book fans, as this week welcomes the release of both The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Zack Snyder's Justice League. The latter project has been a long time coming, with fans campaigning for years after the 2017 theatrical release. Snyder was given millions by HBO Max to complete his vision, which included filming a brief appearance by Jared Leto's Joker. Although the Oscar-winning actor recently explained why he "feels funny" talking about his mysterious role in the movie.

Zack Snyder did limited reshoots for his version of Justice League, reportedly helping to film a coda for the streaming event. This also brought the opportunity to include Jared Leto's Joker in the story, and have the actor reprise his role for the first time since David Ayer's Suicide Squad. When asked about that mysterious role, Leto spoke to the secrecy, saying:

It was a secret I had to keep for so long, it feels funny to even talk about it. [Snyder] knows that world like nobody else... He cares so deeply about the character. He cares so much about the fans. I was happy to be a part of his journey and retelling that story and telling it the way that he always dreamed of. And it was fun to dip my toe into the character again.

Touche. It looks like Jared Leto has been sitting on his return as Joker for a while. And since Zack Snyder's Justice League is just days away from arriving, it's even more important to keep the four-hour project under wraps. We do live in a society, after all.

Jared Leto's comments come from the actor's recent conversation with ET. The interview did a deep dive into his recent projects, including The Little Things and Morbius. Eventually the subject to his return to Joker in Zack Snyder's Justice League, which has already broke the internet a few times.

The Snyder Cut will be available exclusively on HBO Max. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

The first new footage of Jared Leto as Joker came from the official trailer's final moments. Mr. J is looking pretty rough, in what will presumably be another sequence set in the Knightmare reality. Only time will tell how much screen time he gets.

Jared Leto's time as Joker has been a bumpy one, and it's unclear if/when we'll see him back on the big screen in a project within DCEU's official canon. Leto debuted in David Ayer's Suicide Squad, but unfortunately the blockbuster suffered from studio interference. As WB pushed for a more comedic tone, many of Joker's scenes were cut. Ayer went so far as to say they "eviscerated" the story, resulting in Leto having a tertiary presence in the movie.

After that, Jared Leto was noticeably missing from Birds of Prey. And he was reportedly not too pleased when Joaquin Phoenix was given a Joker movie, eventually winning an Oscar for the role. And while it seemed like his time as Mr. J had come to an end, Zack Snyder's Justice League came around. We'll just have to see if this inspires him to step back into the role in a more significant way.

Zack Snyder's Justice League will arrive March 18th on HBO Max. In the meantime, checkout our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.