The Independent Jared Leto must have known that from the moment DC Comics fans clapped their eyes on his Joker, the floodgates holding back Heath Ledger comparisons would fly open.
Jared Leto must have known that from the moment DC Comics fans clapped their eyes on his Joker, the floodgates holding back Heath Ledger comparisons would fly open.
But perhaps even Leto, an Oscar winning actor in his own right, was not expecting the deluge that hit Twitter as soon as the first Suicide Squad trailer dropped.
Leto plays the psychopathic supervillain in the upcoming David Ayer movie alongside the likes of Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Cara Delevingne and Ben Affleck but, while many have “high hopes” for his performance, others are doubting whether he could ever rival Ledger’s.
Ledger, who died aged 28 in 2008, won a posthumous Oscar, Golden Globe and Bafta for Best Supporting Actor after playing the Joker in The Dark Knight. Jack Nicholson also took on the iconic role, portraying an especially dark and twisted version in 1989’s Batman and later reportedly warning Ledger of the perils of doing so himself.
Leto’s Joker will have green hair, scary themed tattoos, disgusting teeth and crazed eyes but, by the looks of things, no forced red ‘Not so serious!’ smile.
When Leto growls, “Oh I’m not gonna kill you, I’m just gonna hurt you really, really badly” at the end of the new teaser, soundtracked by an eerie cover of The Bee Gees’ “I
Started a Joke”, that alone is enough to give us nightmare. But will he win round the loyal Ledger gang threatening not to watch his effort?
Here is what those filling the cinema seats make of Leto’s chances; from the supporters... “Jared Leto’s joker looks like he’s going to be every bit as creepy as Heath Ledger’s. Credit where it’s due, DC,” wrote a fan Neil Caskey. “Sick of seeing people say Jared Leto’s joker looks nothing like Heath Ledger’s. They were never meant to be similar...” said another.
From amongst the doubters: “No one could do a Joker better than Heath Ledger. Sorry Jared Leto,” wrote a Twitter user Palmer Mattice. Others were crueler; “If you think jared leto will ever top heath ledger as the joker please stay at least 10 feet away from me,” wrote one Sandrec Pratt.
Warner Bros has scheduled Suicide Squad‘s release for August 2016, less than six months after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice reaches cinemas on 25 March. It remains to be seen whether Leto will make his debut as the Joker in that film, but a snippet from the Comic-Con trailer showing Robin’s suit tagged by the Joker suggests we may get what we want...
