‘Joker’ has been heralded as one of the best movies of the year — which sucks for Jared Leto.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Jared Leto was frustrated when Warner Bros. greenlit Todd Phillips’ version of Joker because the studio reportedly promised Jared he could continue his take on his ‘Suicide Squad’ version of the character.
via Complex:
THR’s insiders claim that after the film’s 2016 release, Warner Bros. led Leto to believe that he would get his own standalone Joker movie. The studio then turned around and hired Phillips to direct his own version, which as we all know, went on to star Joaquin Phoenix.
Leto was reportedly so miffed, that he complained to his agents at CAA (who also represent Phillips), and told his music manager, Irving Azoff, to contact Warner Bros.’ parent company in an effort to get the movie canned.
Leto’s disdain for the project may have even ended his time with CAA, which he left last summer. He reportedly felt like his agents should have fought harder to get the movie scrapped and told him about the project sooner. Leto reportedly ended his relationship with Azoff for the same reason. He’s now represented by WME, who say that he’s working “happily” with Warner Bros. They claim that he wasn’t upset about Joker and pointed out that he’s currently working on Little Things with the studio.
That’s showbiz, Jared.
