He's definitely not smiling.
When discussing the most memorable cinematic incarnations of The Joker, it's fair to say that Jared Leto's take on the Clown Prince of Crime will not rank that highly.
Granted, in terms of the overall finished product, Suicide Squad wasn't even close to The Dark Knight, Tim Burton's Batman, and Joker.
Simply put, Leto was in a poorer film than his fellow Jokers but with Joaquin Phoenix earning massive plaudits for his take on the character, Leto's turn as the character has paled in significance - especially since his turn as Batman's nemesis is now bookended by two remarkable performances from Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix.
Well,
The Hollywood Reporter have provided new details about why Leto was vehemently opposed to Todd Phillips' new standalone film, Joker.
A few weeks ago, the
same publication said that Leto was reportedly feeling "alienated and upset" by the film and the latest report states that the Oscar-winning star of Dallas Buyers Club wanted to "kill the Phillips film."
The report claims that "according to sources familiar with Leto’s behaviour, when the Oscar-winning actor learned of the Phillips project, he not only complained bitterly to his agents at CAA, who also represent Phillips, but asked his music manager, Irving Azoff, to call the leader of Warners parent company (it’s unclear whether it was Time Warner’s Jeff Bewkes or AT&T’s Randall Stephenson, depending on the timing). The idea was to get Warners to kill the Phillips film."
It adds that "a source in Leto’s camp denies that the actor made this request, and Azoff declined to comment, but a person with knowledge of the situation says Azoff never made the call. Azoff and Leto have since parted ways. Sources say the actor felt his agents should have told him about the Phillips project earlier and fought harder for his version of Joker. Sources say Leto told his agents that they should stop the rival project, arguing that he wasn’t being treated properly as an Oscar winner."
It's reported that the star of Requiem For A Dream and Blade Runner 2049 was annoyed at Warners because he felt that they "had strung him along with promises of his own Joker stand-alone film."
In terms of the production and final edit on Suicide Squad, Leto has previously spoken about his dissatisfaction that certain scenes were cut from the final version of David Ayer's film. In the final cut of the antihero film, Leto’s Joker only gets about 10 minutes of screen time.
During the filming of Suicide Squad, the actor also denied claims that he sent used condoms to his co-stars as a wrap gift.
Despite his apparent unhappiness at Todd Phillips' Joker being given the go-ahead, The Hollywood Reporters add that "Leto's representative says the actor is still happily working with Warner Bros. and notes that he's currently shooting John Lee Hancock’s Little Things, starring alongside Rami Malek and Denzel Washington, at the studio."
However, they also state that Leto is unlikely to play The Joker again.
