As we inch closer to the HBO Max premiere of Zack Snyder's Justice League, a new look at Jared Leto's Joker has been revealed. We first learned Leto's version of the Clown Prince of Crime would hop from David Ayer's Suicide Squad over to Snyder's Justice League cut in late 2020. Then, in January, we got our first look at the Snyder Cut interpretation of Leto's Joker. Well, I say "first look" but technically, it was the first obscured look at Leto. The photo shared by Snyder showed us an out-of-focus Joker holding up the Joker player card, with hints that the DC villain now has long hair and possibly a new wardrobe.
On Tuesday, Vanity Fair shared new photos of Leto's Joker, courtesy of Snyder. Snyder confirmed to Vanity Fair that he'll be making good use of Joker in his Justice League cut, telling the outlet, "The Joker is really the only thing that I thought of in retrospect. But I will say that it was always my intention to bring Joker into that world."
These two photos give us a very clear look at Leto and tease what kind of villain we're getting this time around. As teased in the first photo, Leto's Joker has longer hair now and is not as polished as his Suicide Squad interpretation. In fact, this Joker looks more at home in a meatpacking plant or a hospital than he does in a nightclub, with ominous stains on his clothes and a menacing look on his face. Vanity Fair also notes Leto's Snyder Cut Joker will appear wearing a bullet-proof vest with all of the battered badges of law enforcement members he's taken down — something Snyder refers to as Joker's "trophies."
Vanity Fair also reveals how exactly Joker will figure into the plot of Snyder's Justice League — a major spoiler I will not reveal here in case you're keen to watch Snyder's four-hour, R-rated movie with little to no knowledge of what's been changed. But Vanity Fair's report does make it clear that Snyder has been thinking about working Joker into the Batman side of his vision of the DCEU for some time. As such, you can count on Leto's arc to be so unique only Snyder could have dreamt up.
Zack Snyder's Justice League premieres on HBO Max on March 18. See the second new image of Leto's Joker below. For more, find out what's coming to HBO and HBO Max in February.
