Zack Snyder loves his religious imagery, as we’ve seen with all the visual comparisons between Superman and Christ in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, which unsubtly portray Clark Kent as a modern day messianic figure. Here’s a new one, though. In this fresh image (see below) from the upcoming Justice League Director’s Cut, Jared Leto’s Joker wears a Jesus-like crown of thorns. Though we’re not really sure what the deeper meaning is behind it.
The black-and-white still comes from Vanity Fair’s eye-opening piece about the long, winding journey that the Snyder Cut went through to get to the screen. Earlier this month, we finally got our first glimpse at the Leto Joker’s bold new look for the movie, with his gangster chic, grills and tattoos being swapped for long dark hair and black makeup that resembles Brandon Lee in The Crow in medical scrubs. The addition of the crown of thorns only adds to the weirdness of the ensemble and you can check it out in the gallery down below, along with the previously released shots of Mr. J.
The Clown Prince of Crime’s cameo in JL made waves the other week thanks to his appearance in the most recent trailer going viral, with the Joker quoting the infamous “we live in a society” meme to Ben Affleck’s Batman. It’s believed that Leto’s role was the only major addition to the new cut that was inserted during reshoots, with Snyder deciding to slot him into the film as an extra treat for fans who’ve been wanting to see Affleck and Leto come face to face.
The Joker will factor into sequences set in the Knightmare timeline, the dystopian Darkseid-controlled future first glimpsed in Bruce Wayne’s vision in BvS, which our heroes are working hard to avert. As for how the villain’s had his tattoos removed in a post-apocalyptic world, Snyder doesn’t really have an answer for that, but fans are mostly grateful for the redesign, plot logic be damned.
Don’t miss Zack Snyder’s Justice League when it hits HBO Max – and VOD platforms internationally – in less than a month’s time on March 18th.