Justice League Director Zack Snyder Explains Why He Brought Back Jared Leto's Joker

When Zack Snyder's Justice League finally hits HBO Max, it will be a bit expanded from the original version of the film. This may very well be the last time we see Snyder's DC Universe onscreen, and so he's included as much as he can in the six chapters coming to the streaming service, including an encounter between Ben Affleck's Batman and Jared Leto's Joker. We only had the briefest of encounters in Suicide Squad, but that was a flashback and not the current or future versions of the characters that we'll get in the Snyder Cut. Snyder spoke to Total Film about the inclusion of Leto's Joker, and it's something he's always wanted to do (via GamesRadar).

"[Adding the Joker] was a thing I had wanted to do," Snyder said. "Because frankly, the ultimate conflict in a universe where Batman exists is for him to confront Joker. I was afraid that if this was the last Justice League with Ben [Affleck's Batman] and Jared, it would be remiss if I couldn't figure out a way for them to come into conflict."

Snyder had already hinted at the encounter in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and wanted to deliver some added context.

"Also, it was a wish of mine to bring Joker into the continuing storyline. I hinted at it in Batman v Superman – when you see Batman's gun in the post-apocalyptic world, it has a Joker playing card taped to it. This has a little bit to do with that concept," Snyder said.

As for the scene itself, Snyder gave a few more details about their encounter, an encounter that many fans never thought they would see after Affleck left the role of the Dark Knight. "The cool thing about the scene is that it's Joker talking directly to Batman about Batman," Snyder said. "It's Joker analyzing Batman about who he is and what he is. That's the thing I also felt like fans deserved from the DC Universe. That is to say, the Jared Leto Joker and the Ben Affleck Batman, they never really got together. It seemed uncool to me that we would make it all the way through this incarnation of Batman and Joker without seeing them come together."

Zack Snyder's Justice League's hits HBO Max on March 18th.

Are you excited to see what Snyder can do with Leto's Joker? Let us know in the comments!