Jared Leto Sounds Off On His JOKER Scenes Being Cut, And Decries PG-13 Rating For SUICIDE SQUAD

It’s becoming more and more common in this age of blockbuster films that we live in:

When one comes out, takes a thrashing from critics, and gets a so-so response from fans, people involved with the production start to openly gripe about things. 

You start hearing about alternate cuts, deleted scenes, clashes between studio and filmmaker, and then you get actors complaining about decisions that were made during the production.

Such is now the case with SUICIDE SQUAD. The film, which many had high hopes for, was thought to be an important pivot point for the DC Extended Universe. After Zack Snyder’s very serious, brooding deconstructions of Superman and Batman in the first two films of the new canon, many thought SUICIDE SQUAD would be a breath of fresh air that would bring new life into this growing DC world. Instead, it was ravaged by critics, and fans gave it only an okay CinemaScore.

One of the confounding aspects of the theatrical cut we were shown was Jared Leto’s Joker. Throughout SUICIDE SQUAD‘s production and eventual promotional tour, we heard so much about Leto’s work. From wild behind-the-scenes antics, to his fellow actors talking about how deeply he lost himself in the role, and director David Ayer saying Leto turned in a performance of pure unpredictable genius, expectations were pretty damn high.

But now the film has come out and not only does Joker barely interact with any of the film’s stars outside of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, but his subplot has very little impact on the movie itself. Not to mention, in this cut, it doesn’t seem like the actor was even given much to do. 

Well, Leto has taken note of this and- probably sensing that people are wondering why so much was made about his preparation and dedication to the role- he’s letting it be known that a lot of his stuff was cut, and that he thinks the film was hampered by its PG-13 rating, which seemingly led to some of the edge he brought being cut off.

While he broke the story a few days ago that many of his scenes were taken out of the theatrical cut, in a new interview he eludes to exactly how much ended up in the Recycle Bin.

I think that I brought so much to the table in every scene that it was probably more about filtering all of the insanity, because I wanted to give a lot of options, and I think there’s probably enough footage in this film for a Joker movie,” Leto told BBC Radio 1. “If I were to die tomorrow maybe the studio would roll something out.

This was after he got all sarcastic with IGN about the subject. “Were there any that didn’t get cut? I’m asking you, were there any that didn’t get cut?” Leto responded, when asked about his cut scenes. “There were so many scenes that got cut from the movie, I couldn’t even start,” he added. “There was so much that we shot that’s not in the film.

He also told NME that he hasn’t seen SUICIDE SQUAD yet. “I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I didn’t know exactly what’s been cut out,” he revealed. “But I do understand it’s an introduction to the Joker now. It’s a bit more of a supporting part than maybe it could have been if they used everything.

Things got interesting again, during the BBC interview, when the actor brought up the film’s rating. It sounds like Leto thinks that SUICIDE SQUAD, which was made by a filmmaker in Ayer who’s entire directorial oeuvre is comprised of R-rated films, shouldn’t have had a PG-13 rating.

“I always wished this film was rated R, and I had actually said that when we were starting. It felt like if a film was ever going to be rated R it should be the one about the villains.”

Leto probably has a point there. 

What do you make of Leto’s remarks? He sounds fairly frustrated about the whole situation- a frustration that’s likely compounded by the fact that many fans and critics are tearing into his performance, which isn’t fair since the theatrical cut contained a very neutered version of his work. 

I, for one, didn’t mind Leto’s Joker. I saw SUICIDE SQUAD last night and, similar to Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor, I don’t get what all the hate is about. I saw enough to intrigue me and, if anything, I was left wanting to see and learn more about this new version of DC’s most famous rogue. 

SOURCE: Batman-News

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