Jared Leto says a lot of Joker footage was cut from Suicide Squad
People seem to be split on Jared Leto’s Joker in Suicide Squad. Some felt he was a genuinely creepy screen presence. Others, particularly critics, felt his portrayal just couldn’t compete with Heath Ledger’s. It’s hard to get a general consensus on Leto’s performance since he was barely in the film. According to Leto, however, a lot of Joker footage was cut from the final product. He even claims there was enough footage to make a whole Joker movie.
Speaking with Edith Bowman on BBC Radio 5 Live, the Oscar-winning actor stated, “I think that I brought so much to the table in every scene that it was probably more about filtering all of the insanity, because I wanted to give a lot of options, and I think there’s probably enough footage in this film for a Joker movie.”
Leto additionally expressed his disappointment that Suicide Squad wasn’t rated R. “I always wished this film was rated R, and I had actually said that when we were starting. It felt like if a film was ever going to be rated R it should be the one about the villains,” Leto said.
Watching Suicide Squad, you can tell that a lot of footage was cut. Multiple versions of the film actually exist, one of which was much darker than the theatrical release. Just as Batman v Superman got an R-rated Ultimate Edition, it wouldn’t be surprising if Warner Bros. did the same for Suicide Squad.
While the latest DC flick hasn’t received a very positive critical reception, it still had a huge opening weekend at the box office. Flickreel actually gave Suicide Squad a positive review, although the film did admittedly have its problems. One can’t help but wonder if more Joker would’ve made things better or worse.