His appearance hinted at by a playing card in the opening shot of the first trailer for Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League, an alleged leak has given fans their first description of Jared Leto’s Joker in the upcoming HBO Max release and suggests that the Clown Prince of Crime will look noticeably different from the tattooed gangster who debuted in Suicide Squad.
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The rumor began with a tweet by Daniel “RPK” Richtman who, after presumably hearing word of or sneaking a sneak-peek at the Joker’s new look, informed his followers that “Leto’s Joker looks pretty cool in the Knightmare scene.”
The Knightmare scene, for those who have forgotten, was a brief moment in Justice League wherein Batman, in the midst of a nightmare, saw a vision of the Earth laid to ruin by Darkseid’s armies, as well as a brief glimpse of himself being captured by the New God’s Parademons
Though Richtman did not share any images or further details regarding the villain’s appearance, Geeks WorldWide contributor Moonlight Warrior filled in some of the blanks, as according to him, Leto’s Knightmare Joker will be “Rugged,” sport “Long Hair”, and have “No Tats or Capped Teeth,” a drastic departure from the the character’s original look.
Leto’s bizarre appearance in Suicide Squad caused a wave of backlash among fans at the time, and though there seem to be a slowly burgeoning crowd of fans defending the actor’s unpopular take on the character, it’s not hard to imagine that Snyder might wish to distance his film from such a divisive element of the DCEU.
Despite fan-speculation that Snyder changed the Joker’s appearance out of a sense of ambivalence, in a previous interview with YouTuber and Rooster Teeth content partner Grace Randolph, Snyder stated that he “wanted to, of course, honor what had been created with [The Joker] because I thought it was really cool.”
“But it also felt like – I’m not going to tell you what happens,” the director continued, “but there is some water gone under the bridge between the last we saw and this sort of appearance.”
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Unfortunately, as mentioned above, no behind-the-scenes glimpses of Knightmare Joker have been publicly released, as both Richtman and Moonlight Warrior’s only made reference to an apparent image of the character they had both seen.
If a leaked image or trailer is out there and making the rounds, it appears no one has archived or publicly shared the respective media, a puzzling absence in the face of the film and property’s popularity.
The leak was further covered by YouTuber Wartsu, who noted that his appearance would make sense if it was part of a ‘future’ scene, as “you can remove tattoos, you can improve your teeth, you can get long hair”, but that if that were the case, this description “doesn’t really prove much, to be honest, because a lot of these things could actually change anyway.
However, thanks to a piece of fan art by Portguese illustrator and concept artist Datrinti, fans can get a glimpse at what a potential Joker could look like in the Snyder Cut.
The piece, described by Darinti as a “wild take on Knightmare Joker, is remarkably similar to Moonlight Warrior’s description, and features the design’s rumored bandolier, holsters, and weapons, while also removing the character’s signature tattoos and grills.
It’s possible this take could turn out to be the stuff of Knightmares, but fans will have to wait until the Snyder Cut drops on HBO Max in 2021 to find out.
What do you make of this alleged new Joker appearance? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!