The internet has been in constant unrest over the topic of Jared Leto as the Joker, and his appearance in the new Suicide Squad film. After pictures released of Jared Leto covered in heavy-handed tattoos reading “HAHAHAHA” and “Damaged,” fans were outraged. But then a Hollywood insider revealed that Jared Leto’s version of the Joker wouldn’t actually look that way in the final film. However, some new set photos reveal that, while Leto does look slightly different, those terrible tattoos are still very present.
According to IGN , the final version of the Jared Leto Joker is pretty similar to the publicity photo the Suicide Squad filmmakers released weeks ago — except he’s got a bit more clothing on. You can see the photos below, including faint images of the tattoos Joker fans were so upset about. It seems that the promo photo was not simply to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Joker after all.
Of all the tattoos, the “Damaged” tattoo across Jared Leto’s forehead is the most hated. Fans have criticized this choice for basically spoon-feeding the audience information they would otherwise already know or at least glean on their own. It should be obvious to comic book fans that many villains are somehow damaged psychologically — that’s often the source of their evil behavior, or the whole point of their back story. For a villain as iconic as the Joker to proudly profess that he’s “damaged” by writing it on his own forehead is to destroy the mystery of the character with a bizarre badge of self-awareness.
Margot Source has the full set of photos of Jared Leto as the Joker sporting all the tattoos the fans railed about. Batman-News reported on the behind-the-scenes look at the shooting of Suicide Squad , saying it’s exciting to get a close look at the filming process, but extremely disheartening to see that the filmmakers stuck with a costume design that was so controversial.
Some are speculating that the photos are actually a flashback sequence to when Jared Leto’s Joker met Harley Quinn, because actress Margot Robbie is seen in the photos without her costume. To see the full Harley Quinn get-up, check out the cast photo of everyone in Suicide Squad that was released several days ago — including Will Smith as a bald-headed, full-bearded Deadshot .
What do you think about the Jared Leto Joker, now that everyone knows his final costume? Did the people working on Suicide Squad make a huge mistake?
[Image credit Margot Source ]