7 Ways Jared Leto's Joker Will Be Different To Heath Ledger
7. Different Origins Means Different Themes
How the Joker comes into being in the first place makes a huge difference to the dominant themes of his storyline. Ledgers Joker explained at some length how he got those scars in The Dark Knight - depending on whether you believe him or not, he either get slashed up by his dad or chewed a razor blade. Regardless, both stories are, at root, about broken relationships and the emotional damage they can do. Along with that, Ledgers wardrobe gave him a scruffy, shambling twist with the beaten up shoes and straggly hair. That gave the impression of a once-proud man whose mind had unravelled. By contrast, with Letos Joker looks like its going to follow the traditional origin tale of having been knocked into a vat of chemicals which bleached his skin, turned his hair green and made his lips bright red. Certainly, the first promotional shot of Leto's Joker aped the panel from The Killing Joke which follows the incident. That implies that where Ledgers Joker was trying to prove that the world is unfair, and that control can only be found in creating ones own chaos, in taking on the Joker's traditional origin story Letos Joker will more likely look more closely at how noble people can be corrupted by trauma.
