Justice League: Jared Leto's Joker Wasn't Originally Part of the Snyder Cut

Jared Leto's Joker will have a presence in Zack Snyder's Justice League, that much was known. What wasn't known, however, was the fact Joker wasn't even originally in the filmmaker's plans for the feature. In fact, the idea came to fruition sometime after his cut of the DC Comics team-up was officially greenlit by HBO Max. In a recent chat with TheFilmJunkee, Snyder revealed that Leto's presence was never originally planned during principal photography. Instead, the decision was something the helmer "boiled on" ever since, before finally pulling the trigger for his cut.

"No. No, he wasn't," Snyder said of Joker's Justice League plans. "There was a few things that I had thought about doing that I had thought about grabbing in post. There was a number of things I had drawn – a couple of them, I wasn't able to do, but it's fine. I'm completely satisfied."

The director added, "But this was one of the things that in the years since I've kind of boiled on and kind of said, like, this would be a cool thing to do. I'll be honest, I never thought the opportunity would come, and thanks to the fans, of course, and this whole journey, it's happened, which is insane."

In a separate interview, Snyder confirmed Leto's villain will also have an all-new look, one the director says will show a "road-weary" Clown Prince of Crime.

"It is true," Snyder told Beyond the Trailer about the rumor of Leto's new look. "I wanted to of course honor what had been created with him because I thought it was really cool; but also in this, I'm not going to tell you what happens in the little scene, but some water has gone under the proverbial bridge between when last we saw Joker and this appearance. So he's made some...he's a road-weary Joker, I guess that's a way of saying it."

He continued, "I will say it was fun having a segment of the band together for this little vignette if you will. Working with Jared was really amazing, his attention to detail, he really cares a lot about it being awesome. It was fun and everyone did an amazing (job). Even trying to shoot in COVID is a bit of a deal but everyone brought like huge A game and really wanted it to be cool, and I couldn't be happier with what those guys did."

The theatrical release of Justice League is now streaming on HBO Max. The Snyder Cut has yet to receive a release date from the streamer.

Where'd you rank Leto's portrayal of the iconic Batman villain amongst other Jokers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!