Comics
Here’s The First Official Photo of Jared Leto As The Joker!
It’s the Joker’s 75 anniversary and to celebrate Suicide Squad director David Ayer took to twitter to officially show off Jared Leto as the clown prince of crime. He’s a lot different than you remember him.
Jared Leto is The Joker, Will Smith is Deadshot, Joel Kinnaman is Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie is Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney is Boomerang, and Cara Delevinge is Enchantress. David Ayer (Fury) will direct. The movie has just started shooting, and with a cast this big, they are showing Marvel that they are done screwing around. It’s been described as The Dirty Dozen of superhero movies, and we’ll just have to wait and see if that holds true.
The Joker was created by Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger, and Bob Kane, and first appeared in Batman #1 (April 25, 1940… looks like David Ayer’s a day early). Although the Joker was planned to be killed off during his initial appearance, he was spared by editorial intervention, allowing the character to endure as the archenemy of the superhero Batman.
As Batman’s nemesis, the Joker has been part of the superhero’s defining stories, including the murder of Jason Todd—the second Robin and Batman’s ward—and the paralysis of Batman’s ally, Barbara Gordon. The Joker has had various origin stories during his over seven decades in publication. The most common story is that he falls into a tank of chemical waste which bleaches his skin white, turns his hair green and his lips bright red; the resulting disfigurement drives him insane. The antithesis of Batman in personality and appearance, the Joker is considered to be his perfect adversary.
This one appears to be far and away from what people were expecting. Rumors indicated that the appearance would be more in line with The Dark Knight Returns and now we know this Joker is quite unlike any we’ve seen before. Is this another nail in the coffin for the DC live action universe or a step in the right direction?
What do you think of The Joker’s new look?! Is he really pale, or is his skin white? What are those tattoos and the grills? I can already hear the fanboy howls long into the night. Do you dig it, do you think its a misstep? Sound off in the comments below!
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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