He who laughs last, laughs best, and thus Jared Leto might be cackling right now. In yet another twist in the Zack Snyder/ “Justice League” saga, Leto has been tapped to reprise his role as the Joker in the currently titled “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” coming to HBO Max sometime in 2021.
READ MORE: Jared Leto Pressured His Agents To Kill Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker’
While a surprise move, maybe not all that surprising given Ben Affleck—who is also returning to do some additional shooting for “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”—had a cameo role in David Ayer‘s “Suicide Squad” apprehending Leto’s Joker. Both are part of what was once described as the Snyderverse—Zack Snyder’s led vision of the DC Extended Universe. And while it appears that DC and Warner Bros. have moved on from not only that vision, but that universe, Snyder is seemingly getting everything he wants to retell that version of the story.
READ MORE: Jared Leto Says He “Would Definitely” Play The Joker Again
Overseen by HBO Max, which is financing the new round of shooting and the completion of the many unfinished scenes, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” (potentially not the final title due to legal reasons) will air as a four-episode event series next year.
READ MORE: Ben Affleck Will Return As Batman For ‘The Flash’; Michael Keaton Also Confirmed
THR says reshoots and some new scenes are being shot with actors like Ben Affleck, Ray Fisher, and Amber Heard and Leto. It is unclear if Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, or any of the other actors from Justice League will be involved (Cavill recently denied he would be involved and that’s because he basically walked away from the Superman role last year after battling in negotiations with WB, both sides have called it a stalemate so far and while there have been talks of him returning to the role, nothing concrete has surfaced).
The other wrinkle in all of this. While the Snyderverse-version of the DCEU is essentially over, Affleck will be reprising his role as Batman in the upcoming “The Flash” movie alongside Ezra Miller. Given the movie is a time-travel-shaping movie, maybe have suggested and speculated that “The Flash,” which will also include Michael Keaton’s 80s/90s version of Tim Burton’s “Batman,” will reset WB’s DCEU timeline and leaving Affleck with a proper goodbye to the role, the franchise and the fans (even one of the film’s producers has said “The Flash” will “restart everything“).
Leto returning as Joker must be sweet for the actor, especially given he never even appeared in the 2017 version of “Justice League,” nor seemingly was even intended for Snyder’s original cut. He seemed especially perturbed after Joaquin Phoenix was cast as the character for Todd Philips’ “Joker” movie and all mooted plans for a Leto-led Joker film seemed to quickly dissipate after that movie. Whether he reprises the role going forward is a big question mark still, but good news at least for the actor who would likely love at least some closure at the very least.
In related news that will make Cyborg actor Ray Fisher happy, Jon Berg and Geoff Johns, then-studio executives who oversaw the movie and the reshoot by Joss Whedon, (whom Fisher is currently battling with), will not be receiving producer credits on the Snyder Cut. They themselves, not involved with this version of the film, have decided to have their names removed.