A recently surfaced costume test of the Joker in Suicide Squad shows a controversial redesign of the Clown Prince of Crime.
In 2016's Suicide Squad, Jared Leto took on the role of the Clown Prince of Crime. For the film, David Ayers' team opted to give the Joker a radical redesign, shaving his eyebrows, covering him with a plethora of tattoos and adorning him in a modern wardrobe that dropped the comic's trademark suit for a crocodile-skin jacket. While the look proved to be divisive for many, users on Reddit have unearthed a costume test of Leto that could have been even more controversial.
In the image, Leto is shown laughing maniacally, holding a shotgun against his head. While his chest tattoos and jewelry match those shown in the final design, the Joker's face is completely changed. The Joker's grills are decidedly darker, taking on a gunmetal color. Additionally, Leto has tattooed eyebrows and a thick, tattooed outline of a smile surrounding his mouth. As if this radical redesign wasn't drastically different enough, the Joker does not appear to have whited-out skin, which many people consider to be his most distinct physical trait.
While it is common for movies to evolve over the course of their production, the considerable alterations made by Warner Bros. caused an outcry from David Ayer and many of his fans, who were disappointed by the final product. On multiple occasions, the director has teased an "Ayer Cut" of Suicide Squad. Among the differences between his vision and the theatrically released blockbuster, Ayer's original motion-picture would have featured more of Jared Leto's Joker. The director recently praised Leto's performance, saying, "Jared killed it But no one knows."
Ayers' Suicide Squad isn't the only installment of the DC Extended Universe to experience some growing pains. Director Zack Snyder's infamous struggles with Warner Bros. during the production of Justice League ultimately led the studio to greenlight the "Snyder Cut." Released earlier this year, the film was nearly double the length of the original Justice League and featured countless scenes that were cut from the movie. Zack Snyder's Justice League was also noteworthy for the surprise addition of Leto's Joker in a new scene intended to homage Ayers' vision of the Joker.
Though the look of the Joker shown in this found image never came to be, the character did eventually don a somewhat similar costume on the big screen. In 2019, Joaquin Phoenix played a streamlined rendition of Arthur Fleck for Todd Phillips' Joker. Like the proposed design for Ayers' film, the Joker ditched his bleached skin, though he still wore some self-applied face-paint. The role netted Phoenix an Academy Award for Best Actor and while there has been talk of a sequel, Phoenix recently cast doubt, leaving the Joker's film future uncertain.
Source: Reddit