Zack Snyder has revealed the first look at his version of The Joker from Justice League. In a new post on his Vero account, Snyder shows Joker holding up his signature Joker playing card in the foreground, while the actual face and makeup details of the character remained blurred in the background. It’s a big-deal tease from Snyder, as fans have been wondering if the director would be bringing back Jared Leto’s Joker with the same controversial makeup design as he had in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. This photo from Snyder feels like something very different than that – and eerily closer to Heath Ledger’s Joker.
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In addition to the Vero post, Snyder tweeted the photo, with a special shoutout to Suicide Squad director David Ayer: “Amazing character you created. Honored to have our worlds collide. @DavidAyerMovies @JaredLeto”.
Zack Snyder had previously teased how he was changing the look of Jared Leto’s Joker for Justice League:
“I wanted to of course honor what had been created with him because I thought it was really cool,” Snyder told Beyond the Trailer regarding Suicide Squad. “But also in [Justice League], 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.”
The entire point of fans pushing to get Zack Snyder’s Justice League has been those loyal to Snyder’s vision of the DC Movies Universe getting to see what his sprawling vision of that universe would’ve been. Snyder’s Justice League was supposed to set the stage for the larger Batman movie universe Ben Affleck would’ve explored, and a big part of that Batman mythos was the dark history between Affleck’s Batman and Leto’s Joker.
That story included a murdered Robin and a Batman who grew more brutal as a result; it was a tragic saga Snyder and Ayer were weaving through Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, and Justice League, which would’ve set Affleck’s Batman movie up with a strong foundation of backstory. Now, fans can at least get the resolution of knowing Leto’s Joker evolved into something else beyond his infamous Suicide Squad incarnation. It’s the type of closer Snyder’s Justice League is generally intended to bring to the fans, the actors, and Snyder himself.
In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, determined to ensure Superman’s (Henry Cavill) ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) aligns forces with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions. The task proves more difficult than Bruce imagined, as each of the recruits must face the demons of their own pasts to transcend that which has held them back, allowing them to come together, finally forming an unprecedented league of heroes. Now united, Batman (Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) may be too late to save the planet from Steppenwolf, DeSaad and Darkseid and their dreadful intentions.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League will be available to stream on HBO Max on March 18.