Suicide Squad Director Reveals His Big Regret With Jared Leto's Joker Look

Suicide Squad Director David Ayer breaks silence on his big regret about Jared Leto‘s image of the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker. Among the actors who portrayed the troubled Gotham City crime lord, Leto’s version arguably took the brunt of the internet’s attention. And not generally in a good way.

Every character, especially the ones that were based on a comic book or literary character, has, quite literally, pages of reference with regard to looks, mannerisms, and other unique nuances that the author or creator wishes to convey. However, for popular graphic novels with characters giving artists comparatively free reign to interpret the character, it also transcends to the screenplay and eventually into the big screen.

Batman and the characters moving inside his universe were not unlike characters that got different versions for every comic series. A specific writer and artist would team up for DC Comics, and they would have different styles applied to the character. They are still the same ones in other series. Readers still identify who’s who. Batman was Batman. Joker was Joker.

The cowl, the cape, and the looming shadow equals the caped crusader. The green hair, white complexion and disturbing grin equals the Joker. Certain tweaks were done, but the characters were distinguishable.

In some cases, certain characters get a specific look depending on the project’s story. Some of these changes may be due to budget constraints or depend on the director or writer’s vision at that specific time.

Suicide Squad Director Says He Regretted Jared Leto’s Joker Look

It was Joker trolling Batman after getting his teeth punched in by him. It’s the one aesthetic choice I wish I hadn’t made. Caught a lot of smoke for it obviously. https://t.co/T7T3XS6oDQ

— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) March 10, 2023

On a recent Twitter exchange, followers found out that 2016 Suicide Squad director David Ayer regrets adding a specific feature to Leto’s Joker.

Apparently, Ayer wishes he hadn’t made the aesthetic choice of Joker’s tattoos, specifically the one where the word “Damaged” was written on his forehead. Answering a fan about his question as to why he had Joker sport such ink, he said:

It was Joker trolling Batman after getting his teeth punched in by him. It’s the one aesthetic choice I wish I hadn’t made. Caught a lot of smoke for it obviously.

Long-time fans know that Batman and his rouge gallery are very much a representation of certain psychological conditions. He even has a psychologist who fell in love with Joker and became one of the clown prince’s henchmen.

It is not new that the stories show Joker is obsessed with Batman. Perhaps they are even co-dependent. Every move that Joker made was a jab at his nemesis. In a twisted way of looking at things, they are best friends, with one of them more teasing and goofy than the other with a huge tendency for practical jokes and pranks.

The Suicide Squad director, David Ayer, possibly regrets the tattoos simply because they weren’t appreciated the way he thought they would be. Instead of emphasizing the torment that Joker has or is going through because of Batman and his own psychological quagmire, it turned him into a punchline.

Suicide Squad Director Feels Bad About Jared Leto’s Joker’s Look

David Ayer, Suicide Squad Director, Suicide Squad

Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Maybe the audience didn’t get what the tattoos signified. Maybe they needed to see Batman actually punching his teeth in to understand why Joker would even allow such a thing to be on him. Perhaps the audience could have understood if it was actually his cut that was really shown in the theatres at that time.

We can’t be 100% sure.

What we are sure of, though, is that Ayer is actively expressing his desire to show the world his cut of the Suicide Squad movie. Many fans are commenting that they also want to see it. It began last year when another Twitter user posted that he had seen the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad. And he said that it was way better than what we all saw in the theatres.

For one thing, there was more of Leto’s Joker. In fact, he said, Joker stole the show. According to the post, Ben Affleck’s Batman had more screen time. Bottomline: the movie was completely different from what everybody saw.

Maybe if we had seen the original cut, Joker’s tats wouldn’t be that much of a joke. He could have been less as the punchline and more as the point.

What do you think about David Ayer saying that he regretted giving Suicide Squad’s Joker the tattoos? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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