Justice League: Jared Leto Explains Joker Return, Praises Zack Snyder

Jared Leto returns to his role as the Joker in a brand new context in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Leto returned to film new scenes for Snyder’s cut of the film, taking on a brand new look. The Joker appears alongside Ben Affleck’s Batman and Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke in Bruce Wayne’s “Knightmare” vision of the future, where Superman aids Darkseid in controlling the Earth. Clearly, the apocalypse makes for strange bedfellows. Leto recently spoke to Entertainment Tonight about several projects in his career currently, including keeping his return as Joker a secret and working with Zack Snyder on Justice League.

“It was a secret I had to keep for so long, it feels funny to even talk about it,” Leto says. “[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.”

Joker was not a part of Justice League‘s theatrical cut. In a previous interview, Snyder explained why he brought Leto back in the role.

“[Adding the Joker] was a thing I had wanted to do,” Snyder told Total Film. “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. 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.”

In another interview, Snyder offered some additional details about Joker’s role. “The cool thing about the scene is that it’s Joker talking directly to Batman about Batman,” he told Vanity Fair. “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 will debut on HBO Max on March 18th.