Much to the surprise of, well, everyone, Suicide Squad star Jared Leto is set to reprise his role as The Joker in Zack Snyder's Justice League. Thanks to the filmmaker's endless teases, we're pretty sure that the Clown Prince of Crime will factor into some "Knightmare" flashforwards, potentially serving as an ally to Batman as he attempts to bring an end to Darkseid and Superman's rule.
During a recent interview, Leto was asked about returning as the iconic villain, but chose not to reveal too much about what we can expect from The Joker here.
"I may or may not be in this; I’ve heard the rumors too. We’ll have to let Zack [Snyder] confirm or deny that one." Pushed for an answer on whether he shot any new material for the "Snyder Cut," he added: "I may or may not have shot something with Zack, but I love him, he’s just a maverick and an incredible filmmaker; we get along great and have great chemistry."
"I look forward to working with him again in the future. We have lots up our sleeves, Zack and I," Leto noted, seemingly teasing a future for The Joker in Snyder's hands.
What those plans could be remains to be seen, but we know Snyder hopes to be able to conclude this story eventually. DC Comics Publisher Jim Lee has seemingly offered him the chance to do so in the form of a comic book, but if HBO Max's Justice League is a hit, who knows what might happen!
What do you hope the future holds in store for this iteration of The Joker?
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we hope to see from an eventual Justice League reboot!
10. The Watchtower
The thing which really distinguishes the Justice League from The Avengers is the fact that they are viewed as almost God-like beings, something which is understandable when you consider how powerful they all are. With that in mind, it arguably makes perfect sense that they have a base which orbits the Earth from thousands of miles above.
Not only is this a nice way of alluding to how they’re viewed by the general public, but it would also be a visually stunning sight to see put on film.
The superhero team uses Boom Tubes to travel between the Watchtower and Earth, and though some might argue that this is too outlandish a creation to work in a live-action movie, can you really think of a better base for such a larger than life team like the Justice League?
9. Batman Vs. The Justice League
We're not necessarily talking about an actual "Batman vs. Justice League" movie, but a scene like this could be used as a post-credits scene teasing a future story or clash between the team and the Caped Crusader. What's in the cases? Secret weapons which are capable of taking out everything from Superman to Wonder Woman and the Flash.
As just a normal man on a team of God-like heroes, you might think that Batman really isn’t that important or even much of a threat to his teammates, but he’s always prepared and willing to take them down if and when they potentially step out of line and end up using those powers against the innocent.
Honestly, we'd be on board with this just being an Easter Egg, but bear in mind that Mark Waid's "Tower of Babel" actually saw Ra's Al Ghul steal Batman's plans to take down the League, and subsequently use it against them. The sort of conflict this could create would be fascinating, and an unorthadox direction to take an adventure like this in.
8. The Lineup
Zack Snyder's Justice League used a roster made up primarily of the heroes from the "New 52" era of the team's adventures, but we would definitely like a future reboot to get a little more adventurous. It goes without saying that Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman should all be there, but which characters need to join them?
Well, this time around, a Green Lantern is a must (John Stewart, preferably), while characters like Shazam, Black Canary, and Hawkman could easily be used to help shake things up a little.
That's not to say we don't want to see the likes of the Flash and Aquaman in action, but they could easily take on smaller roles this time around, giving other heroes the chance to shine. Failing that, a much larger roster could be the way to go, but that means some won't get a lot of screentime.
7. The Crime Syndicate
There have been a number of different versions of this team over the years, but for the sake of simplicity, we’re going to focus on one of the most recent from "The New 52" era of storytelling.
This Crime Syndicate hails from Earth-3, an alternate version of our planet where evil rules, and they come to the Justice League's reality when theirs is destroyed by a mysterious threat. After dispatching the team of heroes, the Syndicate go about reshaping things in their image, and their dynamic proves to be in equal parts compelling and horrifying.
Seeing how they differ to their counterparts led to a lot of great stories in the comics, and having them face off against the League in the near future would be nothing short of epic.
6. Lex Luthor Joins The Team
Did we forget to mention that it’s Lex Luthor and a team of villains who ultimately take down The Crime Syndicate? Indeed, and it’s this which leads to him becoming a member of the Justice League.
After initially being refused entry into the team, Luthor – who has figured out that Bruce Wayne is Batman – uses this information to blackmail his way in, and the League vows to keep an eye on him in the hope they can take him down once and for all in the months that then follow.
This would take some time as Luthor needs to be rebooted now Jesse Eisenberg is unlikely to reprise the role down the line, but throwing him into the mix here would make for an awesome dynamic.
5. The Death Of Batman
In the comics, Batman’s apparent demise comes when he’s forced to break his one rule and use a gun – albeit a space one – to take out Darkseid before he conquers reality. However, the villain destroys him at the same time. That leads to Nightwing taking his place for a time, and it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Robert Pattinson to take some time off before returning.
After all, we would later learn that Batman didn’t die...he was just sent back in time and had to then fight his way back to the present. There are ways that could be changed for a Justice League movie, though; after all, the team could travel back to find him, leading to a triumphant return which ties into a bigger story. Warner Bros. will need to do some serious planning, though!
Providing they get it right, this could be a really fun direction to take the Caped Crusader's story in.
4. Kingdom Come
What if Warner Bros. decide to take a radically different approach to a future Justice League movie, and rather than setting it in the present, instead head into a much different future for the team?
This classic story from Mark Waid and Alex Ross is set in a future where most of the superheroes we all know from the DC Universe have retired and disappeared. A new generation have taken over, but their failings and shortcomings lead to Superman reforming the Justice League to show them how it should be done.
However, Batman doesn’t agree with his former friend’s dated idealism and creates a team to confront the League over their plans for these heroes. Ultimately, they all come together to face a much larger threat, and we're really not doing this tale, well, justice. It's a beautiful, epic story which is definitely worthy of a film.
3. Darkseid
We'll see this villain in Zack Snyder's Justice League next year, but it will only be a tease, and Darkseid has yet to take centre stage in a movie. One of the most powerful and evil characters in the DC Universe, he hails from Apokolips, and uses an army of Parademons in his quest to eliminate all free will from the universe and reshape it into his own image.
It was his arrival on Earth which led to the Justice League forming in the "New 52" Universe, and a similar premise could definitely be used in a reboot which takes the team back to basics.
There's so much Warner Bros. could do with the character, it's crazy we haven't seen more of him. There are countless stories future filmmakers could use for inspiration which involve Darkseid, and while Snyder imagined the League battling him on a desolate, conquered Earth, we'd love to see the team head to Apokolips for an epic, crazy battle with him.
2. JLA/Avengers
What are the chances of this happening? Zero. Despite that, just humour us for a second! Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios teaming up to combine their Avengers and Justice League franchises would be historic, even if it won’t happen anytime soon due to the legal and financial complications that such a deal would result in. However, it's certainly nice to wonder, "What if?"
A few years back, there was actually a comic book crossover which saw the two teams meet, and it featured such awesome interactions as Batman and Captain America battling to a stalemate, Quicksilver racing the Flash, and Green Arrow and Hawkeye testing their archery skills.
Of course, all of that pales in comparison to the iconic image of Superman wielding both Captain America’s shield and Thor’s hammer at the same time, so, for now, we just have to hope and pray!
1. The Death Of Superman
Haven't we already seen this? Well, yes and no, and while this isn't technically a Justice League story (it took place in the pages of Superman’s own series), the team did play a major role in the events surrounding the death of this iconic hero during the classic 1990s tale.
Whereas Zack Snyder rushed straight into Superman's demise, we think a future reboot should tackle it a few movies in, and perhaps after another solo adventure for the hero. In the comics, when the Man of Steel clashes with Doomsday, an epic battle ensues which takes place over the whole of Metropolis and ends with Superman defeating his foe but falling in the process.
Snyder loves the source material, but didn't really deliver the fight many fans hoped for, and definitely failed to take full advantage of the League's involvement with Superman's demise. Heck, Warner Bros. could even let the hero survive this time after they get involved!