Jared Leto initially turned down return as the Joker in Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Every Batman has a Joker, and when it comes to the Ben Affleck era, he was played by Jared Leto. But oddly enough, Affleck’s Batman and Leto’s Joker never actually faced off onscreen, at least not until Zack Snyder’s Justice League came along. The Clone Prince of Crime has a cameo appearance in Zack Snyder’s re-do of 2017’s Justice League, although it took some doing.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League producer talked to SyFy Wire about the movie, and revealed that Leto was slow to get on board. “We talked to both Jared and Ben before we went to the studio and asked if they would help us shoot this one scene, and he said ‘no.’ And then he said, ‘Well, maybe,’ and then he read the scene and then we talked about it. And then finally he was in.”

It’s not surprising that it took a bit of convincing — fans and critics were split on his Joker when he appeared in 2016’s Suicide Squad — nor is it surprising that Leto eventually agreed to take the role, given the mostly positive reception to the Snyder Cut.

Jared Leto took some convincing to join Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Leto was front and center in a lot of trailers and teasers for director David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, but when the movie came out he didn’t have as much screen time as expected. There were even scenes from those teasers that didn’t show up in the actual movie or in the Suicide Squad Director’s Cut, leading some fans to assume that there’s an “Ayer Cut” out there somewhere.

There were also tales from the set of Leto’s antics that helped him get into the Joker’s mindset, like sending a dead pig and used condoms to the cast. All of this paints a picture of a filming experience that may not have been pleasant for Leto, which helps explain why he initially turned down the chance to return for the new Justice League until he understood what Zack Snyder had in mind.

The scene, sparingly detailed in a Vanity Fair interview with Snyder, features a conversation between Batman and the Joker that dives into Batman’s psyche. It’s the kind of stuff actors love because it’s full of angst and psychological drama, and it’s right up Leto’s alley. After reading it, there was likely no way Leto could turn it down.

At four-plus hours, Zack Snyder’s Justice League has all the time it needs to right some of the wrongs that have been done to the DCEU over the past few years. And if the Ayer Cut never happens, at least fans will have a chance to see Leto and Affleck together on screen.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League comes out this Thursday on HBO Max.

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