On Saturday, Justice League director Zack Snyder shared a close-up photo of Batman in Batman v Superman. The photo, taken during the desert-y apocalyptic fever dream sequence fans have deemed “the Knightmare,” zeroes in on Batman’s gun and reveals the character’s obsession with Joker.
Here’s the deal: Batman v Superman confirmed that a Joker does exist in the Snyderverse, and though Snyder hasn’t explicitly explained that the Joker who apparently killed Robin is Jared Leto’s Joker in Suicide Squad, it’s safe to assume DC has a plan for both its big movie properties to comment on each other.
Following Suicide Squad, David Ayer confirmed that Jared Leto’s Joker doesn’t have “grills” so much as metal corrective dentistry that was given to him after Batman (again, assumedly Batfleck from Batman v Superman) knocked his jaw out.
Ayer also suggested that Joker wasn’t alone in killing Robin, and that he had help from Harley Quinn, which means the Batfleck who appeared in Suicide Squad may have been chasing down the clown couple of crime for killing his sidekick — although we’re not entirely sure which Robin they offed.
No one ever said Bruce Wayne forgave easily.
Even if Batfleck’s attention is otherwise occupied, first with Lex Luthor and the Abomination in Batman v Superman, and now with Darkseid in Justice League, it appears Snyder has gone out of his way to keep Joker lingering in the Dark Knight’s subconscious. Batman and Joker have always shared a hateful, obsessive bond across DC properties, and it appears the Snyderverse is no different.
Here’s hoping for some quick and dirty Joker appearances in later DC films.
