Ah Jared Leto, an Academy Award winner, frontman of a surprisingly popular screamo band, and someone for the life of me I will never understand.
You might remember last month when Warner Brothers announced Leto would be producing and starring in a solo Joker movie. This only added to the mania going on over at the studio as they now had multiple Joker projects in development with no real movement to report. So what does this guy go and do? According to Vulture.com, the skinny prince is now switching universes to become Morbius in another Spider-Man spinoff from Sony. Daniel Espinosa is set to direct.
Morbius is a human/vampire/anti-hero just in case you haven’t heard of him. Can’t you just picture Leto in fangs? Way better than the Joker’s shiny silver grille.
So here’s where things get interesting… Variety.com‘s sources say the Morbius project won’t mean he’s done playing the Joker. But I would bet my apartment that Warner and Sony won’t be cool with Leto participating in two pieces of rival intellectual property. It’s never happened before, especially for what one may consider to be a “main” character. Comic-Con is coming up, which means we are kind of in a major announcement purgatory until the middle of July. But it could mean the panel for DC will be full of big surprises.
When it comes to Leto, basically there are two options (there’s no way he double dips universes); the Morbius movie falls through entirely and he again joins the DCEU. They continue to feature him in the role. Maybe we get the Joaquin Phoenix thing, maybe we don’t. Or… Leto abandons the DC and makes way for new opportunities. If the latter happens, it’s all but guaranteed the Joker origin story gets the green light. Believe me, I know some people who will be ecstatic!
What’s crazy is my personal opinion of Leto is still pretty solid. Not a 30 Seconds To Mars fan. I don’t even blame him for Suicide Squad. However I will continue to trumpet the fact his performance was drastically brief, and incredibly underwhelming. The “Damaged” tattoo sucks. But following 2016, the dude has done some good work. Minus that whitewashed AF Netflix movie of course.
God Awful…
I’m torn between losing a potential talent, the man has an Academy Award for God’s sake, and starting over from the beginning. On one side, maybe he could wind up playing a great Joker. Audiences have yet to see a true version of Frank Miller’s take on the character from The Dark Knight Returns. Leto is one of a few actors who I believe could pull it off.
Maybe new writers, new director, a new story, remove a couple tattoos, would make a difference. On the other, we have a franchise in dire need of a shaking up. A new face in Hollywood terms basically gives you a fresh start. If the performance is good, people will easily forget the past. I can’t imagine anyone looking to forget the past more than Warner Brothers. Damage (get it) has been done and if fans aren’t excited, they’re not going to the theater.
What do I think will happen? Hear it here first. Leto leaves DC for the Spider Spinoff-verse. Todd Phillips gets his Joker origin story whether it’s Joaquin Phoenix or not. The new actor/Joker gets contracted for two films; the second either being The Batman or its sequel.
Mark my words… the Leto/Morbius could be great for DC!
Personally though, I’m cool if they let the Joker take a nap for a few years. Let Deathstroke or somebody else become the new main bad guy for Batman. Heath Ledger’s Academy Award winning performance was only ten years ago. It’s unwise to rush to replace something as heralded as that. Look what already happened.
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Morbius is a human/vampire/anti-hero just in case you haven’t heard of him. Can’t you just picture Leto in fangs? Way better than the Joker’s shiny silver grille.
