‘Suicide Squad’ director David Ayer regrets giving Jared Leto’s Joker a forehead tattoo

Suicide Squad director David Ayer has said he regrets the decision to have Jared Leto‘s Joker sport a certain tattoo.

In the 2016 DC film, Leto’s version of the Clown Prince of Crime had the word “damaged” inked across his forehead.

Ayer previously defended the decision in a 2018 tweet, but acknowledged that some fans would found it “alienating”.

“Originality and faithfulness to the canon are often at odds,” he wrote at the time.

In a recent post, however, the filmmaker admitted that he now regrets the decision. In a tweet on August, Ayer shared an image of Joker without tattoos, captioning it: “Original intent.”

In the comments, one user asked: “David – at what stage did the ‘damaged’ tattoo come into play and whose idea was it?”

The filmmaker replied: “I own the tattoo idea 100 per cent. “It was my choice. Original idea is it would say ‘Blessed’ and not ‘Damaged’.

I own the tattoo idea 100%

It was my choice. Original idea is it would say “Blessed” and not “Damaged”

Now having said that — I regret that decision. It created acrimony and division.

Not every idea is a good idea.

And I’ll just be in the corner here while the internet… https://t.co/8no7KQy1Oe

— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) August 16, 2023

“Now having said that — I regret that decision. It created acrimony and division. Not every idea is a good idea.”

He jokingly added: “And I’ll just be in the corner here while the internet slaps me around for this post.”

The director had previously explained on Twitter/X that the ‘Damaged’ tattoo “was meant for Batman after he smashed Joker’s teeth for killing Jason Todd [The Dark Knight’s sidekick]”.

Ayer’s poorly-received Suicide Squad saw a group of incarcerated supervillains — led by Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Will Smith’s as Deadshot — assembled by a US intelligence officer for a top-secret mission. Leto’s Joker, meanwhile, was not part of the crew and had his own evil agenda.

In 2021, new DC boss James Gunn went on to direct The Suicide Squad, a soft reboot and standalone sequel to Ayer’s Suicide Squad. The film proved to be far popular with critics landing a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of its release. It currently holds a rating of 90% fresh.

In a four-star review of the sequel, NME wrote: “Bold, boisterous and only schmaltzy right at its climax, The Suicide Squad proves you can spend time with the bad guys without regretting it afterwards.”

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