It might seem like this happened ages ago, but the announcement that Jared Leto would portray the Joker in the DCEU caused some genuine excitement among fans. After all, we knew that the actor threw himself into his roles with everything he had. And before Suicide Squad came out, it appeared that we were right in our assumption that Leto's Joker would rival anything that had come before him. We were right about one thing: Jared Leto did give it his all.
However, he changed after the release of Suicide Squad, which ended up being a disappointment on so many levels. And the actor was right; his role wasn’t much more than an extended cameo, despite the numerous scenes he had shot. Taking this into account, we wouldn't have been surprised if he found his way out of the DCEU.
We believe that it isn’t going to happen anytime soon, because Jared Leto is now teasing us with an epic confrontation between The Joker and Ben Affleck's Batman. Of course, besides the single pic posted on his Instagram account, there’s nothing to suggest that he’s still in. We can at least assume that he wants more, but the script would have to be perfect.
Rumor has it that Warner Bros. plans to release a couple of Batman-centric movies in 2019. Another rumor teases an Under the Hood adaptation. So the Batman/Joker encounter could really happen. Also, if Joss Whedon intends to transform Batgirl into Oracle, Bruce Wayne will have all the more reason to put an end to The Joker's criminal career.
And this could be Jared Leto's window of opportunity, if he really wants to exit the DCEU.
Of course, this is all just speculation. The Instagram pic makes it clear that Jared Leto hasn't decided what kind of future this shared universe holds for him. Who knows? Maybe the next script he receives will be better than the previous one. Maybe the director won't cut the majority of his scenes from the movie. Whatever movie that might be.
