Jared Leto is returning to the DC Comics fold, reprising his role as the Joker from 2016’s “Suicide Squad” in Zack Snyder’s new version of “Justice League,” Variety has confirmed.
It’s unclear whether Leto was always meant to appear in “Justice League” before Snyder left the feature in early 2017 in advance of significant reshoots by filmmaker Joss Whedon, or if Leto is a new addition given the four-hour length of Snyder’s updated “Justice League,” which will premiere on HBO Max in 2021.
Regardless, Leto is joining other actors from “Justice League” this week for additional photography on the project.
His involvement further knits together Snyder’s “Justice League” with “Suicide Squad,” which featured Ben Affleck’s Batman in a cameo role as he tried to take down Leto’s Joker and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” also directed by Snyder, features a shot of the costume for Batman’s sidekick Robin with “Ha Ha Ha Joke’s on you Batman” spray-painted over top — a reference to the Batman comic storyline in which the Joker kills Robin. Leto’s appearance in “Justice League” could further unpack this storyline within the DC Films universe.
Variety has also confirmed that original “Justice League” producers Geoff Johns and Jon Berg will not be credited on the new Zack Snyder version. Sources close to Johns say he was not involved with the Snyder Cut since it was announced in May, and his lack of a credit is not related to subsequent allegations by “Justice League” actor Ray Fisher that Johns and Berg enabled purportedly abusive behavior by Whedon on the set of the reshoots. Fisher, meanwhile, is also expected to participate in the additional photography for Snyder’s new version of “Justice League.”