One of the big developments DC fans have been waiting for is the entry of The Joker into the DCEU. In contrast with the comics and animated movies, where he’s a staple and long-time foe, the live action DCEU has yet to explore the Clown Prince of Crime’s relationship with Batman.
The Justice League Director’s Cut – aka the Snyder Cut – will remedy that situation, as the trailer has revealed. Here, Jared Leto’s Joker is far from the glam club kid of Suicide Squad, and much more like the deranged arch villain comic book aficionados know and love.
Zack Snyder’s Joker
The Joker scene in the Director's Cut trailer is part of Batman's so-called Knightmare scenario. It's Batman's vision of what will happen if he can't stop Darkseid. The Earth is a ruined shadow of itself, and Darkseid has exterminated most of the population. Joker offers Batman another one of his twisted philosophies.
Snyder's new version of The Joker has lost his tattoos and the slicked back hair. Now he's sporting a bulletproof vest with the badges of law enforcement officers he's presumably stolen them from.
Given that it's a recut of a movie where the future of the franchise has already shifted, it leaves a lot of questions. First and foremost – will The Joker finally show up in the DCEU for real?
Zack Snyder always had it in mind, as he told Vanity Fair in February 2021.
“The Joker is really the only thing that I thought of in retrospect,” he said. “But I will say that it was always my intention to bring Joker into that world.”
Snyder notably left the movie production on bad terms with DC and Warner, and despite the Director’s Cut, there’s been no talk of a Justice League 2 sequel. Still, there are other ways that Jared Leto’s Joker could find his way into a DCEU movie.
Is A Future Multiverse Crossover Possible?
Since a two Batman universe is already in the works, according to DC Studio head Walter Hamada, The Joker could be introduced by various paths.
According to We Got This Covered and other online sources, Jared Leto is looking to somehow get his Joker to cross paths with Robert Pattinson's Batman. Pattinson's Dark Knight is set in Earth 2, which is technically not part of the DCEU. If Leto's Joker ends up there, it will be a multiverse crossover – a move that comes straight from DC Comics.
The Multiverse will open up in The Flash, which is now set for release on November 4, 2022. There, Michael Keaton will play a third version of Batman, reprising his original role from the Tim Burton movies. The Flash is supposed to reset the DCEU (just as the Scarlet Speedster is known to do in the comics) which could open up even more possibilities.
The upcoming The Suicide Squad movie will have its own connections to the DCEU, and Harley Quinn. Harley, while she’s currently single in the DCEU, could always provide another entry point for the Joker back into the DCEU.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League debuts on March 18 on HBO Max.