We’ve been anticipating the release of Suicide Squad for quite some time now, and even though the production will hit theaters in a month, the whole thing has been kept extremely under wraps.
The most captivating aspect of the film so far has been Harley Quinn’s big screen debut and Jared Leto’s creepy, insane take on the Joker. Though we previously only had a few photos, we definitely speculated about what the Joker’s role would be in the film, and it looks like our predictions were correct. Entertainment Weekly has finally confirmed Joker’s role in Suicide Squad, and it’s pretty much just what we expected — with a twist.
According to EW, the Joker is the true villain of the story. He has a “laser-sharp” plan to win back his love, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), which involves throwing a wrench in the Suicide Squad’s mission. He’s even more of a villain than the villains that make up the Suicide Squad. We can definitely count on the Joker being as crazy and creepy as ever, but this we already knew by the photos.
Fans of the comic book series have long known the origins of the Joker’s love affair with Harley Quinn. It began when Harley Quinn was Harleen Quinzel, a doctor at Arkham Asylum where the Joker was admitted. Through intense manipulation and abuse (the Joker threw Harleen into the very same vat of chemicals that gave him his bleached-white skin, green hair and red-stained lips) Harley Quinn was born.
What’s interesting about Suicide Squad’s take on the Joker is that he never actually loved Harley Quinn. He used her to get what he wanted, constantly abused her and even tried to kill her a few times, but he was too sociopathic to genuinely love her. On the flip-side, he was the center of Harley’s world. She gave up a blossoming career as a psychologist to defend the Joker against Batman and in the process, became one of the most human super villains in the D.C. Comic universe.
We’ll have to wait to see how the Joker plans to sabotage Suicide Squad, but as fans of Harley Quinn, we sincerely hope his plan doesn’t work. Suicide Squad hits theaters August 5th.
