RUMOR: PEACEMAKER Season 2 Reportedly Takes A Shot At SUICIDE SQUAD Star Jared Leto - SPOILERS

RUMOR: PEACEMAKER Season 2 Reportedly Takes A Shot At SUICIDE SQUAD Star Jared Leto - SPOILERS

DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn isn't a fan of Suicide Squad star Jared Leto, something that may be evident from a new rumour claiming the latest season of Peacemaker takes a shot at the actor and musician.

By JoshWilding - Aug 11, 2025 12:08 PM EST
Filed Under: Peacemaker

It's no secret that DC Studios co-CEO and filmmaker James Gunn isn't exactly a fan of Suicide Squad star Jared Leto. As a result, the odds of the Oscar winner ever playing The Joker aren't just slim, but almost certainly downright zero. 

The actor briefly reprised his most divisive role in Zack Snyder's Justice League. Before that, the response to his 2016 turn as the Clown Prince of Crime closed the door on a planned Joker/Harley Quinn movie, and he ended up being left out of Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey

Now, scooper @MyTimeToShineH has claimed, "In Peacemaker season 2, Peacemaker makes fun of 30 Seconds to Mars, so you can be sure Leto isn’t coming back." 

We don't have any additional details, but Leto is the frontman for the band 30 Seconds to Mars, and if Gunn is using one of the DCU's characters to tear into them, that surely tells you all you need to know regarding how he feels about the actor and musician. 

In 2015, Gunn went on what he described as an "Ambien-fuelled Periscope session" in which he made a series of derogatory comments about the actor, including insinuating that the Oscar-winner sleeps with underage girls. He's also alluded to that on social media, and in a deleted 2012 Tweet, Gunn wrote, "Driving home from Vegas trading stories about what a dick Jared Leto is."

In January, Leto was accused of sexual of sexual misconduct by at least nine women. Some allege that they were underage when the Oscar-winning 30 Seconds to Mars frontman engaged in sexually charged conversations or made forceful advances on them.

Gunn has largely avoided sharing his thoughts on Leto in recent years, including during the press tour for The Suicide Squad in 2021. 

"I just don’t know why Joker would be in the Suicide Squad," he said at the time. "He wouldn’t be helpful in that type of war situation. I wanted to create what I thought of as the Suicide Squad. For me to react to David’s movie would make it the shadow of David’s movie. I wanted it to be its own thing completely."

"When Warner Bros. said they wanted me to do this, I watched the first movie for the first time, and I called them back and said, what do I have to keep from this movie? And they said, 'nothing,'" Gunn continued. "They said, listen, we would love it if Margot’s in the movie but she doesn’t have to be. You could come up with all new characters or you could keep all the same characters."

Peacemaker season 2 follows Christopher 'Chris' Smith, aka Peacemaker, the vigilante superhero, as he struggles to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evildoer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost. 

He discovers an alternate world where life is everything he wishes it could be. But this discovery also forces him to face his traumatic past and take the future into his own hands.

Peacemaker season 2 premieres on HBO on August 21. Check back here later this week for our review.

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DarthAlgar
DarthAlgar - 8/11/2025, 12:48 PM
Leto's Joker was such a disappointment.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 8/11/2025, 3:01 PM
@DarthAlgar - it was better a bit in Snyder's jl
OrgasmicPotatoe
OrgasmicPotatoe - 8/11/2025, 12:49 PM
Gee, I can't wait for the DCEU 2.0 😐
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 8/11/2025, 12:51 PM
Way to strike while the iron is ice cold.
TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 8/11/2025, 12:54 PM
By far the worst Joker ever cast. How on earth did anyone approve this casting ?
ClungeOfSteel
ClungeOfSteel - 8/11/2025, 12:58 PM
@TheJok3r - one paper he was a good choice, in reality probably the worst in recent memory.

He did far better in TSC but I think that was due backlash of his SS performance 😅
tmp3
tmp3 - 8/11/2025, 1:10 PM
@F4ntasticClunge - Leto wasn’t even a good choice on paper lol, and he was trash in the snyder cut too
Nightmare
Nightmare - 8/11/2025, 1:12 PM
@TheJok3r - He's a great actor but someone who goes over the top with method. I don't think Ayer and his crappy script helped.
TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 8/11/2025, 1:31 PM
@Nightmare - I originally thought the issue was the script, but as time went on and he starred in more projects, it became clear he was the problem.
ClungeOfSteel
ClungeOfSteel - 8/11/2025, 1:33 PM
@tmp3 - wrong on both counts.😮‍💨
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 8/11/2025, 1:35 PM
@Nightmare - For me he is good for one very specific type of role, not seen any evidence yet he is good at anything else beyond his Blade Runner character type but then not seen everything he has had a role in. On paper I agree Joker seemed the sort of role he could pull off, but didn't, how much of that is on him or scripts etc is another question.
CharleyBologna
CharleyBologna - 8/11/2025, 2:38 PM
@Nightmare - I just can't buy into the idea that he's a great actor. I think he's had a few good performances in a career full of mediocrity to downright awfulness. He was the worst part of the otherwise great BR2049, for example. For all his "method" approach, he doesn't really become his character - mostly you feel like you are just watching Leto in a different outfit.

I just don't get the appeal. He's mostly meh in terms of acting skill, and given how difficult he supposedly is to work with, I don't understand how he keeps getting work.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 8/11/2025, 3:02 PM
@Nightmare - you mean WB's extreme reshaping of Ayer's script
Humperdoo
Humperdoo - 8/11/2025, 3:17 PM
@Nightmare - Crappy script? The script that was never seen because WB butchered his movie? That crappy script?
DS616
DS616 - 8/11/2025, 4:25 PM
@lazlodaytona - There was no good version of that script at any point.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 8/11/2025, 5:57 PM
@DS616 - and you know this...
How?
MahN166A
MahN166A - 8/11/2025, 6:28 PM
@TheJok3r -

Leto, I don't think, was the problem. It was the direction Ayer gave him and the concept of what SS Joker was supposed to be. It all started with those goofy tattoos. That first reveal laid the groundwork for how shitty it was going to be.

User Comment Image

All they had to do was take away the tattoos and give him eyebrows to properly set the tone.

(Might have to click the link to see this one)
https://www.deviantart.com/mryorkie/art/Jared-Leto-Joker-retouch-529025477

User Comment Image


But instead we got Ayer's vision, "Honka Honka" and all.
DS616
DS616 - 8/12/2025, 6:23 AM
@lazlodaytona - Because portions of Ayer's original script were put online years ago and the consensus was that it was even worse than what is in the released version.

Plus the majority of things people hated from the movie are all Ayer's concepts and creations. It wasn't Warner Bros that insisted on casting Jared Leto or giving him the grill, the tattoos or his entire personality. Nor was it Warner Bros who forced him to write the godawful villains combo of Enchantress and *insert name of forgettable CGI demon I still don't know 9 years later*.

Ayer's cut could get released and it will be a carbon-copy situation just like the the snyder cut where certain people assumed there was some incredible masterpiece being hidden away for years followed by unbiased non-fanboys realizing it's just as bad/even worse than what was originally released as they now understand why the studio wanted to make changes in the first place.
DS616
DS616 - 8/12/2025, 6:33 AM
@Humperdoo - LOL portions of Ayer's script leaked online and was rightfully torn to shreds by literally everyone. Plus everything shit in the theatrical cut are all his creations and doing.

Laughably cry and fail harder.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 8/12/2025, 9:35 AM
@DS616 - yeah. You're wrong
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 8/12/2025, 9:51 AM
@DS616 - thanks for the encouragement
LiquidSwords
LiquidSwords - 8/11/2025, 1:01 PM
Would Leto's performance improve in the supposed Ayer Cut?
1stDalek
1stDalek - 8/11/2025, 1:25 PM
@LiquidSwords - In theory it would at least be a little consistent and that alone would be an improvement.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 8/11/2025, 3:03 PM
@LiquidSwords - yes. He was the main villain originally
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 8/11/2025, 1:04 PM
"YOU DON'T WANT NO BEEF?"
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 8/11/2025, 1:08 PM
Slow news day huh?.

Anyway, Gunn apparently continuing to air his dislike of Leto publicly is funny (and possibly justified)…

Also , given Peacemakers musical taste then it does make sense he wouldn’t be a fan of 30 seconds to Mars.

Regardless I doubt he was ever gonna come back as Joker in the DCU and I’m glad so because he was one of if not the worst live action take on the character imo.

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KingZero
KingZero - 8/11/2025, 1:16 PM
@TheVisionary25 - I was going to comment the same thing about Peacemaker's taste in music making emo an obvious target. Gunn obviously dislikes Leto and his Joker history makes this quite meta which I'm sure wasn't lost on Gunn.
ImNotaBot
ImNotaBot - 8/11/2025, 1:17 PM
If you still not sure about Jared Leto being a psychopath just google up "Camp Mars" or "Mars Island" a camp that allows underage girls to spend weeks with Jared Leto on a isolated island on Europe. There are reports from fans dispointed with the event because Jared Leto showed up there with white robes preaching about weird cult stuff and the man himself sleeps there with all those underage girls.

A friend of mine who was crazy about Leto did go to one edition of the event and told me it was 90% underage girls.

If you still dont belive, here you can check some pictures from the event: https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/comments/1ac670y/jared_leto_at_his_music_festival_mars_island_free/?tl=pt-br
Matador
Matador - 8/11/2025, 1:24 PM
@ImNotaBot - LMFAO Mf'er thinks his method Jesus!
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 8/11/2025, 3:05 PM
@ImNotaBot - definitely some big ol' women in attendance there
Matador
Matador - 8/11/2025, 1:22 PM
What made it even worse was the shitty Spirit Halloween green hair, tattoos, and the metal grill making look as Meth joker.

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Pictilli
Pictilli - 8/11/2025, 1:22 PM
Harley Quinn shouldn't be on the Suicide Squad, either. She's just a fraud shrink who fell for the Joker...and now has the ability to shoot guns or something.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 8/11/2025, 3:07 PM
@Pictilli - she's not even an original comicbook character...
She was created in the B:TAS.

However, she dig kick some ass in that Birds of Prey flick
1stDalek
1stDalek - 8/11/2025, 3:17 PM
@Pictilli - If Harley were a smaller character she would actually be a good fit for the Suicide Squad, just a sorta smart psych with a big hammer and half decent gun proficiency. She's the exact type of cannon fodder the squad used to thrive on, she'd be in a story or two then die horribly in a shootout doing a black ops mission, like at the start of Gunn's SS.
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 8/11/2025, 1:28 PM
Worse Joker....but I don't fault him. THE DIRECTION WAS TERRIBLE!!!!!!
TheJester187
TheJester187 - 8/11/2025, 2:48 PM
@BlackStar25 - I blame Ayer. He dropped the ball. WB executives thought he was a joke for that design. Prolly why they scrapped Letos joker. All Ayer had to do was create a simplistic sick Joker.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 8/11/2025, 3:07 PM
@TheJester187 - like the one in ZSJL
TheJester187
TheJester187 - 8/11/2025, 8:22 PM
@lazlodaytona - Zack tried to stop the bleeding at least. He of all people should’ve directed the suicide squad but not really. Triggering name for him. And I’m not being funny.
RedSheep
RedSheep - 8/11/2025, 1:44 PM
It's easy to see why he kept Margot Robbie and Viola Davis, but it's cool that he kept Joel Kinnaman even though he didn't have to.
Forthas
Forthas - 8/11/2025, 1:47 PM
While I am no fan of Jared Leto's take on the Joker, the idea that James Gunn is gong on an "Ambien-fuelled Periscope session" and unprovoked is disparaging an actor in public. The same guy that was fired for his inappropriate text messages regarding children, tried to prevent a writer from getting appropriate credit for her work on GoG, and has been caught in numerous lies, this is the guy that uses a movie to air out his personal issues with other people?


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Why is he the co-CEO of DC again?
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