Jared Leto is making headlines recently over his back-to-back portrayal of supervillain The Joker in two upcoming films “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Suicide Squad” which will both hit theaters next year. Details of both movies are all over the internet and the Clown Prince of Crime himself continues to add to speculations enabling fans to draw conclusions on what The Joker’s storyline on both movies will be. It looks like viewers are about to have gruesome doses of his character for the two films.
Recently, the 43-year-old actor shared a photo on Instagram depicting an iconic scene from the comic book “Batman: The Killing Joke,” hinting that it will hit the big screen. In the photo, Leto, in just a silhouette, is seen wearing a hat, a short-sleeve shirt and shorts that is definitely a reminiscent of what the psychopathic baddie donned when he killed Barbara Gordon in the graphic novel. The 30 Seconds to Mars frontman posted the photo in between peppering his followers with nature photos from his exploration of Yosemite in the first week of August.
As a refresher, Barbara meets a gruesome fate in “Batman: The Killing Joke.” The Joker shoots her, strips her naked, and then takes photos of her while bleeding and hurting. The villain then shows it to Commissioner Gordon, Barbara’s father before kidnapping him.
Fans have been quick to make the connection that the iconic scene will indeed be weaved into the movie’s plotline. As to which movie exactly remains a question, but fans are hoping that both films will involve the ghastly scene. During the first teaser of “Suicide Squad” which was released at the ComicCon 2015 last month, Leto’s The Joker can be heard uttering “Oh I’m not gonna kill you, I’m just gonna hurt you really, really bad” while an uncanny version of the Bee Gees hit “I Started a Joke” starts to play hinting that Barbara’s grisly fate will be involved in “Suicide Squad.”
Further fueling the rumors that the scene will be part of the upcoming superhero film is that “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” star Jena Malone has been reportedly cast as Barbara Gordon in the upcoming “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.” It was first reported that Malone was cast in a role that is yet to be disclosed, but speculations say that the 30-year-old actress will indeed play the helpless Barbara.
The Oscar-winning actor has already given “Batman: The Killing Joke” reference back in April. On Instagram, he shared a photo of himself in his villain character with green hair holding a camera in a pose that mirrors the cover of “Batman: The Killing Joke” comic book.
It’s a fact that the ‘The Dallas Buyers Club’ actor is taking his portrayal as the sadistic villain very seriously. If how he appeared on the teaser for “Suicide Squad” was not enough, stories from his co-stars might suffice. Scott Eastwood admitted that he was afraid to talk to let alone approach Leto as he never seemed to be out of character even when the cameras stop rolling. Also, who would forget the poor dead rat that he sent to his on-screen girlfriend Margot Robbie?
Recently, the method actor was spotted strolling in New York City taking selfies on his iPhone and upon close observation, Leto has his character as his wallpaper. Batman News states that the singer’s wallpaper is from the cover of Detective Comics #1 from The New 52. It seems like playing the same character in two movies gives Leto an extreme attachment to the Clown Prince of Crime.
Meanwhile, as per the International Business Times, Jim Parrack of “True Blood” is reportedly portraying Johnny Frost, The Joker’s henchman in “Suicide Squad.” Actress Corina Calderon was the one who spilled the beans by uploading a photo on Instagram suggesting that she will soon be on the set of the anti-hero film to see Parrack as the Frost.