A few years on and the biggest legacy of David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” seems mostly to be about how a studio can brilliantly cut a film’s trailers, and then hobble the film itself with misguided creative interference and politics.
Still a couple of solid performances shone through the mess like Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, and Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang. Some others however are more remembered as cautionary tales, such as Jared Leto’s committed but not so well received performance as The Joker.
A big part of that was the look, switching out Jack Nicholson’s more traditional take or Heath Ledger’s running make-up look for something akin to a weird prep school punk complete with teeth grills, facial tattoos and dark eyeshadow.
Taking to Twitter recently, Ayer briefly spoke about his rendition of the Joker and revealed he had one regret about the character’s design – the ‘Damaged’ tattoo the character had on his forehead:
“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.”
A fan commented how the character was a big letdown, to which Ayer responded:
“That’s what happens when you hack a performance and character arc to pieces. I’m sorry that’s all you were allowed to see. Now your mind is closed to the truth.”
Leto reprised the role for a cameo in newly shot scenes for “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” cut on HBO Max – that version appearing sans tattoos and longer hair.
