Nearly two years after Suicide Squad first hit theaters, director David Ayer is shedding some more light on deleted scenes with the Joker.
Jared Leto made his debut as the Clown Prince of Crime, but some fans were left disappointed by the lack of time the character was shown during the movie. Suicide Squad had a troubled production and famously left a lot of footage on the cutting room floor, with the trailer showcasing plenty that was left out of the theatrical run. Now, it appears that Leto’s performance was one of the movie’s biggest casualties during post-production.
Related: Suicide Squad’s Jared Leto Is ‘Confused’ About Joker’s Future
Taking to Twitter, Ayer explained one of the biggest mysteries of Suicide Squad and what happened to one scene that never made it into the final cut. The shot in question involved Leto’s bloodied Joker wearing his tuxedo and became synonymous with the movie’s marketing campaign. A big question mark was left hanging over Joker after his big helicopter crash scene until the end of the movie, but Ayer confirms he was supposed to fill in the blanks with the Joker:
After Joker dropped HQ from the help and crashed, Enchantress made a deal with him. He was going to take Harley home and be “King of Gotham” Harley stood up to him and refused to betray her new friends. The Squad turned on him and he escaped. https://t.co/unnOewEYBQ
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) March 24, 2018
Ayer went on to explain that this would’ve added to Margot Robbie’s character arc as Harley Quinn, but instead, she went back to join the rest of Task Force X without looking back at Joker’s betrayal. While he doesn’t explain why the scene was left out of Suicide Squad, audiences can at least take solace in the fact that Ayer has finally explained what happened. The movie was rushed into production, and from having only six weeks to complete the script to a slew of reshoots, Suicide Squad became a cut and paste affair.
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A lot of Joker scenes were left out of Suicide Squad, which was a situation that surprised even Leto himself. The Dallas Buyers Club actor’s portrayal of the iconic Batman villain continues to be divisive to this day, but with Suicide Squad netting a tidy $800 million at the box office, it was still a blockbuster for the DCEU. However, the director’s comments confirm that he at least thought more about Joker and he was (at some point) supposed to have a larger role in the movie.
Since Suicide Squad‘s controversial treatment of the Joker, the character is set to have a much bigger role in Warner Bros.’ slate of DC movies. While Ayer won’t be returning for the hotly-anticipated sequel, Leto is expected to be back as Mr. J for Suicide Squad 2 as well as a possible appearance in Gotham City Sirens. Who knows, maybe director Gavin O’Connor will give Leto’s incarnation of Joker his time to shine?