Suicide Squad: Joker Will Be True To Canon

Joker will be “loyal to canon” in Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad is coming our way in two months. And while it will feature mostly characters who might be well known in the comics, but have never been on the big screen, it’ll feature one villain who has the most on screen representation in film, The Joker. It’s easy to see why, the Joker is Batman’s biggest villain, so he’s faced him a ton of times on both the big and the small screen. But there’s been so many versions of the Joker, all pretty respected to this point. How do you approach that material in a new way for Suicide Squad? Director David Ayer answers that question, while promising that the Joker would be “loyal to the character’s long-established canon” during an interview with Total Film:

"You’re looking at one of the best-known villains in western literature. He has to be very respectful and elegantly crafted, because you’re following in the footsteps of giants. He’s very loyal to the canon, but with some modern twist. With Jared, it’s interesting because how do you come at that character? It’s like treading on hallowed ground. It requires a strange combination of both respect and fearlessness. I don’t want to reveal too much about the magic trick. With a good guy, you automatically like them because they do the right thing. But with bad guys it’s more of a creative challenge — how do you get an audience to like a villain ?"

Next: Lots More Suicide Squad Info

That’s great that David Ayer wants to stay true to canon, but what’s even canon at this point? Joker has been around over 70 years and had a lot of reinvention, some of it pretty massive. Hell, Heath Ledger’s take is widely considered the best big screen one ever and isn’t particularly loyal to any canon. We’ll find out what he means by that and if it works when Suicide Squad opens in theaters August 5th.

h/t CBR