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‘Suicide Squad’ May Have A Whole New Spin On The Joker’s Origin Story

By Heidi Nolan
Published on: 08:45 PST, Apr 25, 2016

Suicide Squad is taking an original approach with Jared Leto’s portrayal of the Joker, and fans are wondering if the movie will feature its own origin story for the Clown Prince of Crime. Coming Soon recently asked Leto if Joker’s origin will be revealed in Suicide Squad.

“I don’t think I’m allowed to talk about that so much,” Leto said with a smile.

Jared remained tight-lipped about the Joker’s origin, but he did reveal more about Suicide Squad’s intent to reinvent the Joker once again. Suicide Squad’s Joker still has green hair and a painted face, but instead of a frozen smile like Jack Nicholson in Batman or scars like Heath Ledger’s Joker, Jared sports silver teeth and tattoos. Suicide Squad’s Joker appears to be a little more chaos-seeking rock star than sociopathic clown.

Suicide Squad promises to be dark and gritty but also incorporates tongue-in-cheek humor that was not seen so much in The Dark Knight, which was much more serious.

“[W]e walked in a completely new direction,” said Leto. “I think we knew that we had to do that. It was important to do that. When the Joker has been done and done so well, it gives you a bit of an indication of where you shouldn’t go. There’s a bit of a map there. That’s the good part about it.”

The Joker has over 75 years history in pop culture, and Leto considers it “quite an honor” to have been chosen to reinvent the iconic supervillain in Suicide Squad.

“It is really special to be asked to do that,” Leto told Coming Soon.

In The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger’s Joker explains how he received his scars, which likely played a large part in him becoming the Joker. He tells two conflicting stories, one is how his father “put a smile on his face” with a knife. The other story is how he cut himself in order to make his wife feel better about her own facial scars. Likely, the Joker was lying in both cases, and the supervillain’s origin remained a mystery, although some may argue the mystery is part of the appeal.

Suicide Squad premiers in theaters on August 5, and it’s likely we’ll all have to wait to see if the Joker’s origins are revealed. In the meantime, we can speculate. The Christian Post theorized Suicide Squad’s Joker may be linked to Ben Affleck’s Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The ongoing rumor is the Joker in Suicide Squad is Batman’s second Robin. Perhaps the line in Batman v Superman, “nobody remains good forever,” is a hint.

Earlier, the Inquisitr reported on how Jared Leto was preparing for his role as Suicide Squad’s Joker by meeting with psychopaths and their psychiatrist. Margot Robbie, who plays the Joker’s madly-in-love girlfriend Harley Quinn, also spent time researching her character’s role for Suicide Squad, although her approach was not quite as “hands on” as Leto’s.

“I did a lot of research on mental illness and codependency,” Robbie said. “I was trying to access a way in to understanding why she’s so in love with the Joker. I kind of decided that she’s codependent on him. Now that I’ve done the research, I realize that that’s more of an addiction than an illness… You see many sides of her. Sometimes she’s really funny. Sometimes she’s really mean. She just enjoys everything she does. Whether she’s doing something good or bad, she’ll have an equal amount of enjoyment out of it. She’s not always the most likable character.”

Suicide Squad’s Harley Quinn is certainly fun to watch in the trailers. Her bubbly voice spouting ominous threats, multi-colored pigtails, and chaotic antics have fans excited to see more of her in theaters. There is speculation Margot’s performance could very well steal the show.

Comic Vine revealed Harley Quinn’s origin story from the comics.

Suicide Squad fans still have a few more months to find out if origin stories for the Joker, Harley Quinn, or any of the characters will be revealed. In the meantime, check out the latest Suicide Squad trailer right here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWvzhfI4SuM

[Image via Warner Brothers]

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