David Ayer Has One Big (And Obvious) Regret About Jared Leto’s Joker Design

David Ayer met critics halfway by expressing certain regrets involving the design of Jared Leto’s Joker in Suicide Squad, even if he believes the public backlash involving the character and the overall film is misplaced due to mass studio interference, involving rewrites and re-shoots for the theatrical release that “ripped to pieces” Leto’s Joker performance.

The mainstream audience, outside the hardcore fan base, has unilaterally written Leto’s Joker off. Even Joker voice actor Troy Baker criticized Leto, saying, “Jared Leto was not a good Joker.” After all the years of criticism of a film remade behind the director’s back, Ayer opened up in acknowledging regrets surrounding Leto’s Joker design for Suicide Squad.

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On Twitter, Ayer explains the meaning behind the ‘damaged’ tattoo, saying that it was done because Batman knocked Joker’s teeth out after he murdered Robin, hence the grills, and that the tattoo is Joker’s attempt to troll Batman. “It’s the one aesthetic choice I wish I hadn’t made. Caught a lot of smoke for it, obviously.” Perhaps, audiences would have been keener to the design had the canonical reasons behind it been shown in the movies rather than Ayer having to explain on social media. Even so, according to Zack Snyder, those reasons for the tattoo would have been explored in a Justice League 2 flashback of Robin’s death, as told by Joker in a scene described as “the last supper” during a heart-to-heart between Batman and Joker.

Leto’s Joker did not feature the ‘damaged’ tattoo in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. This was because it was Bruce’s vision of the soon-to-come Justice League 2 Knightmare timeline, but also because Batman and Joker were teaming up, and as Snyder had put it, it was “water under the bridge.” If the ‘damaged’ tattoo had not been there in the first place, it would not have been as strong from a narrative standpoint because of this.

If the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad one-day releases with the possibility of seeing Justice League 2, assuming Warner Bros. Discovery is interested in leasing it to a 3rd party or producing it themselves under the DC Elseworlds label, then Joker’s design choice may still click for general audiences that are open to various adaptations of the character. Luckily, Ayer has said he’s spoken to DC Studios CEO James Gunn, assuring fans that “good things are coming” regarding his cut of Suicide Squad.

Suicide Squad is available on HBO Max.

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Source: David Ayer/Twitter