Is Jared Leto Ready to Join The Cinema Icons Who Played The Joker?
On Tuesday, Warner Bros. unveiled the cast of its upcoming supervillain team-up flick “Suicide Squad.’’
The newest addition to DC’s comicbook movie universe will feature a number of A-list stars, including Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie, and Will Smith. However, the most interesting name announced may be Academy Award winner Jared Leto, who’ll play Batman’s archenemy The Joker.
Over the years, the Clown Prince of Crime has become a prestigious role sought after by Hollywood’s elite, so Leto will have his hands full trying to live up to audience’s expectations.
Many great actors have played The Joker in the past, but the gold standard for the role was set by the last man to portray the villain, Heath Ledger. His performance in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight’’ earned him a posthumous Academy Award and was simply a masterful take on the character.
“His Joker is a creature of such ghastly life,’’ wrote Manohla Dargis in her review of the film for the New York Times. “The performance is so visceral, creepy and insistently present that the characterization pulls you in almost at once.’’
Ledger’s interpretation channeled the intentions of creator Bob Kane, which was to make him a mysterious and malevolent pyschopath who is the pure embodiment of evil.
The performance was so powerful and menacing mainly because his Joker lacked any clear motivations for why he commits crimes. In many ways, it was an updated adaptation of Shakespeare’s Iago in “Othello.’’
Like the Joker, Iago manipulates Othello and the other characters for no real discernable reason other than to cause mayhem. Even after being arrested, Iago refuses to reveal his intentions, saying, “Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak word.’’
The image of this Shakespearean villain brings to mind the remarks of Michael Caine’s Alfred: “Some men just want to watch the world burn.’’
Leto would be a fool to not integrate this side of the character into his performance, but it’d be a mistake if he just did a carbon copy of Ledger’s Joker.
From Cesar Romero’s campy version in the 1960’s Batman series to Jack Nicholson’s noir-gangster performance in Tim Burton’s “Batman,’’ The Joker has a rich cinematic history that Leto should also look to for inspiration.
While the role has become more sinister and grittier in recent years, a throwback to The Joker’s lighter side would be a nice touch for the “Suicide Squad.’’
Mark Hamill’s interpretation of the character in the animated series was a fine balance between the humor of Romero’s take and the gangster nature of Nicholson’s version, and could be a model that Leto should take after.
Also, integrating Hamill’s style into Ledger’s would help to humanize The Joker, something that’s yet to be seen on screen.
Since Robbie’s Harley Quinn—The Joker’s main squeeze—will be accompanying Leto in the “Suicide Squad,’’ this would be the perfect opportunity to explore a different, more human side of the Clown Prince. The upcoming flick will mark the first time that Quinn will appear in a feature film, and it will be interesting to see how she interacts with her “puddin’’’ in DC’s ever-growing cinematic universe.
“Suicide Squad’’ will mark the cinematic debut of Harley Quinn.
Leto definitely has the acting chops to play a flawed, complicated character, as he showed in “Dallas Buyers Club’’ and “Requiem for a Dream.’’ However, it’s going to take a special performance in order to top Ledger’s work.
Luckily, the iconic character allows for some flexibility with the role, so Leto has plenty of options when it comes to his approach to the villain. He can take the best aspects of past portrayals, or he can add a new wrinkle by taking things in a completely different direction.
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