On March 18, 2021, Zack Snyder's Justice League was finally released on Max.
We never expected the "Snyder Cut" to see the light of day, but with Warner Bros. growing increasingly frustrated by the demands of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement, the studio acquiesced and allowed the filmmaker to share his vision for the movie with the world.
It received a far warmer critical response than Joss Whedon's 2017 disaster, and Snyder even shot a few extra scenes for an epilogue that set the stage for his planned sequels. Warner Bros. agreeing to #RestoreTheSnyderVerse always seemed unlikely and the formation of DC Studios has fully closed the door on the possibility.
Among the actors who returned for Snyder's reshoots was Jared Leto, and the Suicide Squad star gained what many felt was redemption after most of his performance as The Joker in that 2016 movie was left on the cutting room floor.
Now, to mark the third anniversary of Zack Snyder's Justice League being released on streaming, the filmmaker has taken to Vero to share a new look at the Oscar winner's Knightmare Clown Prince of Crime.
"It was great. Working with Zack is a beautiful thing. I adore him," Leto told us while discussing Morbius in 2022. "I really loved the opportunity. It was really special and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s a unique thing to have been part of DC and to now have been part of Marvel. It’s pretty amazing."
Last year, Snyder was asked why he decided to include The Joker in that Knightmare epilogue, particularly when the character is one of Batman's greatest enemies (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice confirmed the villain killed Robin).
"Our theory is that he’s the one who knows where the Kryptonite, what shards of Kryptonite exist. He has that information," Snyder said last year. "And so he’s being carried...he has basically made a deal with Batman. Don’t kill me, and I’ll show you, I’ll get you a tool to fight Superman."
"And so [Batman’s] kind of stuck with him, in that way. If he kills him, or gets rid of him, then he’s screwed himself."
Leaked storyboards for Snyder's two Justice League sequels made no mention of The Joker, so it appears he was added only during those 2020 reshoots. Still, it meant fans finally got to see the DCEU's Batman and Harlequin of Hate share the screen and that, at least, was appreciated.
Check out Snyder's Vero posts below.