Jared Leto Was Upset That He Didn’t Get To Play The Joker In “Joker”
Even though Martin Scorsese thumbed his nose at Marvel, claiming their loud and proud superhero explosion fests don’t meet the bar of “Cinema”, The Hollywood Reporter says that Martin was once attached to Joker, and a source claims he had even considered directing it himself at some point. Turns out we might have Martin to thank/blame for drumming up so much interest in a standalone Joker movie that it actually happened. And unfortunately, the list of casualties in Joker’s wake include more than just your poor strained eyeballs when you heard about Todd Phillip‘s inability to write comedy and Joaquin’s Phoenix‘s extreme dieting and on-set pranks. Jared Leto’s feelings were also hurt!
According to THR:
The Irishman helmer was involved with Joker — which opened in the U.S. to $96 million over Oct. 4-6, an October record — as a producer when the project was first unveiled by Warner Bros. in 2017 with Todd Phillips directing. Although he eventually dropped the credit, his contribution has been a mystery. A source close to Scorsese tells The Hollywood Reporter he originally eyed Joker as a potential directing vehicle before Phillips approached the studio with his own take on the nihilistic villain.
Although it has been speculated that Scorsese initially was brought into the mix to entice his frequent collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio, multiple sources say that is not true, and Phoenix was the only actor considered by Phillips.
Todd, of course, eventually ran with it, all the way to the bank. But Jared, who played The Joker in Suicide Squad, and whose extreme method methods left his co-stars literally gagging, wasn’t part of Todd’s vision either. And former Warner Bros. chief Kevin Tsujihara and current Warner Bros. chief Toby Emmerich were both on board with Todd’s Jared-less Joker.
Tsujihara and Emmerich greenlit Joker, which cost less than $70 million, leaving Jared Leto — who played Joker in Suicide Squad — alienated and upset by the move.
Well no wonder Jared’s a mess. It’s so bad he’d lose his head if it wasn’t attached to his body. Jared’s not a jerk, he’s a wounded animal! He’s fueled by humiliation and betrayal. If only there was some fictional character he could funnel these feelings of alienation into. Time for a standalone movie about the origin story of Batman’s most ridiculous foil, Crazy Quilt!
Jared’s never been more prepared for anything in his life!
Pic: Warner Bros.