Will Jared Leto’s Joker Have the Last Laugh?

by on Jan 28, 2016

This August, Suicide Squad will break into a movie theater near you. It’s the story of some of DC’s most infamous villains who are freed from prison in order to take on a (most likely) deadly government mission. At the forefront of this band of misfits is The Joker, played by Jared Leto. Most of us have seen his outrageous, modernized images of The Clown Prince of crime. It’s a take on the Harlequin of Hate we’ve yet seen brought to the big screen. But what about Jared’s performance? How will he compare to the other actors who have put on the white make-up, red lipstick and green hair? Let’s take a look.

There’s no doubt that he will most often be compared to Heath Ledger’s Joker from The Dark Knight. Heath’s chilling performance holds strong to this day. This was not a cartoon character, this was a freak that could frighteningly be real. Heath mixed terrifying anarchist with just a hint of humanity. His Joker was a monster, but a monster that may have lived next door to you. Jared is going to have a tough time trying to equal that, as well as live up to the expectations for the character that Heath has created. My hope is that Jared will not imitate Heath directly, but build on the character style Heath created. That he will give some substance to The Joker’s madness.

Before Heath, the most memorable Joker was Jack Nicholson’s. The first Tim Burton Batman movie felt more about The Joker than Batman. Jack’s performance was so big, there was no room for anybody else on screen. Maybe today’s audiences would be put off by it, but Jack raised the bar for the villains of the time. They had to go big or go home, and often overshadowed the good guys. With Suicide Squad being an ensemble piece, Jared will have to learn how to work well with others. Fans will frown upon him if he steals too much thunder from his cast mates. Or worse, gets lost behind them.

All the Jokers

That brings me to Cesar Romero’s Joker. Though mostly known as a television series, there was a big screen version of Batman ’66 in which The Joker and three other villains (Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman) team up. All four actors were known for POW BLAMMING out of the screen two times a week, so having four on screen at the same time could have been a disaster. But each villain had their moments to shine, never overshadowing each other. Especially when they bickered with each other. I could see Suicide Squad as an updated, darker version of this concept. If heroes like The Avengers have some drama working together, I can imagine the domestic disputes of these diabolical devils.

At the end of the day, Jared has proven to be a capable actor who will come up with his own bag of tricks for The Joker. But there is no doubt that he has studied all the actors who came before him, and it will be interesting to see what he “borrows” from his predecessors. No matter what, I’m sure he’ll put a smile on everybody’s faces.

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Written by

I am an award-winning playwright/novelist/screenwriter/blogger. I enjoy comics (Batman, Fantastic Four, X-Men), movies, music (Gothic, Industrial, 80s), reading and yoga.

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