Jared Leto Was Apparently So Jealous of ‘Joker’ He Tried To Have the Movie Killed

Evan Romano
Photo credit: Andrew Toth - Getty Images
Photo credit: Andrew Toth - Getty Images

From Men's Health

  • Jared Leto played The Joker in Suicide Squad, but hasn't since.

  • According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, early on in production, Leto tried to have the film killed.

  • Joker has become a massive box office smash, and Leto is not likely to return to his Joker role.

Not only was Jared Leto the worst Joker, but he may have attempted to stop another version of the character from seeing the light of day.

According to a story from The Hollywood Reporter, Leto reportedly was furious that DC greenlit Joker—which has become a box office smash—believing that his own take on the character in Suicide Squad was meant to lead to his own solo Joker film. The story says that Leto went to both his movie and music (he also leads the band 30 Seconds to Mars) agents with a goal of getting Warner Bros. to cancel the movie.

Leto's performance in Suicide Squad was bizarre in a number of ways for a number of reasons. Aside from the odd character choices (a "damaged" tattoo on his forehead? Really?), Leto exhibited odd behavior while making the movie, from sending Margot Robbie a live rat, to sending the entire cast a dead pig during their rehearsal. In the end, Leto's performance in the movie was cut down to only about 10 minutes of screen time—something he's noted in the last couple years.

Sources from Leto's camp deny the claim the THR story makes, and while the story says that Suicide Squad director David Ayer was disappointed with Leto's performance, the director has also denied the claim. In a tweet, he responded to someone asking by saying "That is inaccurate information. Not my words or actions."

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After this whole saga, it seems clear that Leto's time playing the Joker has come to an end. His character was widely panned, and he won't be appearing in Birds of Prey (the upcoming DC film centered on Robbie's Harley Quinn) or James Gunn's reboot, The Suicide Squad. In the THR story, a source said they couldn't envision Leto returning: "How do you play the Joker you established following [Phoenix]? It kind of ends his Joker run.”

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