David Ayer Regrets Jared Leto’s Joker Having Face Tattoos

Forum 1 year ago

David Ayer Regrets Jared Leto’s Joker Having Face Tattoos

Jared Leto’s performance as the Joker in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad immediately received criticism from fans, most notably due to the stark difference in how Leto looked from the traditional Joker look, as well as the now iconic “Damaged” tattoo that Leto’s Joker had on his forehead.

Taking to social media recently, director David Ayer briefly spoke about his rendition of the Joker. After sharing a photo of Leto in costume, a fan commented that Leto’s Joker was a big letdown, to which Ayer said “that’s what happens when you hack a performance and character arc to pieces. I’m sorry that’s all you were allowed to see. Now your mind is closed to the truth.”

In a follow-up tweet replying to a fan that asked about the infamous forehead tattoo, Ayer said that it was meant to be a sign of Joker “trolling” Batman after Batman had, in the film’s universe, knocked out Joker’s teeth by punching him. However, Ayer said that it was “the one aesthetic choice” that he wish he didn’t make, and “caught a lot of smoke” for.

Besides the face tattoo, Joker’s look — which also included a grill due to his teeth having been punched out by Batman — was widely panned the moment it was shown off. The subsequent appearance in Suicide Squad didn’t help things, and following the film’s premiere, Ayer’s vision of Joker would not appear again until a small cameo role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, where he appeared with no tattoo and longer hair.