Inheriting a role as tightly tied in the popular imagination to one actor as the Joker now is to Heath Ledger is a tough gig. However, now that we've all had a closer look at Jared Letos Joker via the cover of Empire magazine, we're getting a proper grasp on what kind of a spin he's going to put on his iteration of the Clown Prince of Crime. Naturally, youd be mad to try and take on the part with the express intention of copying a performance as definitive as Ledgers, but where do you go with the performance then? Its still, roughly speaking, the same character after all. Or maybe not - the signs are all there that Letos Joker is going to be very, very different from Ledgers in all sorts of ways, and I don't just mean the fact that he's wearing sweatpants. The malevolence, the psychosis and the nihilism will, obviously, stay; theyre the cornerstones of what makes the Joker the Joker. Its in what proportions Leto decides to mix these ingredients, and the extent to which the writing and storyline give him rein to explore the outer limits of the character. Then again, well only know for sure when Suicide Squad eventually opens. After all, the one thing the Joker should never, ever be is predictable, right?
