Jared Leto’s Joker Not In Birds Of Prey Because Margot Robbie Said So
Jared Leto is seemingly one of the best stars of Hollywood right now. He is an Oscar winner, the lead singer of a rock band and is incredibly charismatic and smooth in anything. In terms of acting projects, he certainly isn’t going anywhere as he has Marvel’s Morbius project coming up. Also have you looked at the man?? He is 50 but he surely doesn’t look his age. But one of the things he messed up in was his portrayal of Joker in Suicide Squad. Many said it was the weakest performance of Joker by an actor ever given. Many felt it was too edgy and like Leto was trying too hard. Almost everyone agrees that the “Damaged” Tattoo on his forehead was overkill and cringe. But it looks like he won’t even get a shot at redemption as he won’t be in the Birds Of Prey movie. Margot Robbie explained why she didn’t want Leto’s Joker back.
But for now there is only one Joker and that’s Joaquin Phoenix and he deserves a sequel movie:
Why Jared Leto Will Never Play Joker Again
Jared Leto is a good actor but he failed miserably when it came to Joker’s portrayal. It was not just his on-screen lacklustre persona as Joker that cemented his place as a bad Joker in a rich history. He also played obscene pranks on his Suicide Squad cast. He sent them used condoms and dead rats. Whether it was due to his on-screen antics or off-screen ones, he won’t be appearing in James Gunn’s Suicide Squad as well. To add more insult to injury, he will forever be sandwiched between two award winning performances of the character- by Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix.
Due to the poor reception of both Leto and Suicide Squad, the planned Harley Quinn and Joker movie was nixed by Warner Bros. Instead, the studio and Margot Robbie (who plays Harley Quinn) decided to make a spinoff in the form of Birds of Prey.
READ MORE: How Much Has Changed From The Birds Of Prey Comics Origin To The Movie?
Why Will Jared Leto Not Be In Birds Of Prey?
Sure people could argue that Margot Robbie could still insert Joker there and make a subplot about their relationship. But Robbie thought differently. For her it was going to be “all or nothing” in regards to her character’s relationship with Joker. The actress explained:
“It was either going to be a complete Harley and Joker story or Joker has got to be out of the picture. I really wanted to see Harley in a girl gang and I felt there was a huge gap in the market for a girl gang ensemble action film. I felt like no one was doing that and I couldn’t understand why, especially a comic book movie.”
We agree with Robbie. All the trailers for the movie seem to point to the fact that it will be a fun and action filled movie. Moreover especially for Harley it will be like a moving-on-from-a-bad-breakup movie. In fact, Robbie also felt that breakup should be a motivating factor for Harley. She said:
“From the very beginning it was a conscious choice of they have to be broken up at this stage. I have a whole backstory in my head [of] what’s happened between what you saw at the end of Suicide Squad and what you see at the beginning of Birds of Prey.”
While Joker will be on Harley’s mind but the main threat in the picture will be Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor). He is a criminal who is known as the Black Mask and every Bird has a problem with him. Screenwriter Christina Hodson said that:
“Each of them has such a personal reason why they don’t like him and why he doesn’t like them. That natural kind of antagonism with each of them feels personal and grounded rather than feeling like, ‘I’m going to blow up the world,’big Machiavellian-like mustache-twirling. And that felt so right in this world.”
Birds of Prey will be light-hearted for sure and the trailers have given plenty of indication of that being the case. It is the latest addition to the new DCEU where the aim is to appeal to the masses more. Whether that will work or not again, remains to be seen.
READ MORE: Harley Gets A Power Upgrade Thanks To Cocaine In The New Birds Of Prey Trailer
(Source: wegotthiscovered.com and cinemablend.com)
