A brutal joke during Episode 1 of Peacemaker Season 2 might indicate what’s going on with Jared Leto’s Joker in James Gunn’s DCU.
Episode 1 of Peacemaker Season 2 dropped last night, and kicked off in dramatic fashion, with Christopher Smith meeting his doppelgänger, in what definitely isn’t a multiverse story.
The first instalment also made a big change to the DC universe by replacing the Justice League with the Justice Gang.
That was part of efforts to reboot the world to James Gunn’s liking, and a joke midway through the episode suggests another actor might be out.
30 Seconds to Mars gag means we’ve probably seen the last of Jared Leto’s Joker
Jared Leto played Joker in the 2016 Suicide Squad movie, but in spite of the fact that some characters made it over to the 2021 film – most notably Harley Quinn – Leto’s clown prince of crime did not.
When explaining his absence at the time, James Gunn told the New York Times that Warner Bros told him that he didn’t have to bring any specific characters back. Regarding Leto specifically, he said: “Joker, no. I just don’t know why Joker would be in the Suicide Squad. He wouldn’t be helpful in that type of war situation.”
Gunn notably didn’t say the actor’s take on Joker was out of the picture, but a gag in Episode 1 of Peacemaker Season 2 suggests that might be the case.
Leto fronts rock band 30 Seconds to Mars, and midway through proceedings, Christopher Smith and Harcourt briefly discuss how terrible they are. Then during the Peacemaker post-credits scene, we get an extended version of that conversation, where they go in even harder.
“You can’t be looping Spin Doctors in with 30 Seconds to Mars,” says Harcourt. “Spin Doctors are so good.”
Smith responds with “Anybody’s better than 30 Seconds to Mars. That garage band I was in for two seconds is better than 30 Seconds to Mars.”
Now that could be good natured ribbing that Leto is in on. But the fact that they then double down on their Leto scorn suggests the sentiment is real. In which case, it’s probably the last we’ve seen of Jared Leto’s Joker, and his ‘Damaged’ tattoo.
Peacemaker is now airing on HBO Max in the US and Sky Max in the UK, though there’s also a sneaky watch the series for free.
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