One of Zack Snyder’s Justice League‘s raunchiest lines was ad-libbed by Jared Leto. The Snyder Cut, which released on HBO Max Thursday, March 18, is full of surprises and DC easter eggs. After years of waiting, the DCEU architect was able to restore his original vision in all its glory and both fans and critics consider it a vast improvement over Joss Whedon’s version of the 2017 film. With over two and a half hours of new footage, Snyder’s version of the film contained nearly everything fans wanted to see but the director saved one of the biggest surprises for last.

Leto’s Joker returned to the DCEU for Snyder after his debut in David Ayer’s 2016 film  Suicide Squad. Snyder, who will reportedly no longer be working in the DCEU, said that he wanted to bring Leto back so that Batman and Joker could have at least one scene together before he left the franchise. Snyder did just that in his epilogue of the Snyder Cut, set during the Knightmare future that sets up his proposed Justice League sequels.

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One line that made it into this highly anticipated scene was improvised by Leto himself. Snyder told Esquire that the Joker actor’s “reach-around” line was ad-libbed while the two were filming the scene. Leto said that he didn’t believe that Snyder would put it in the film, but it sounds like the director took that statement as a dare, putting the line in the film anyway.

That was an ad-lib. And after he ad-libbed that he was like, “That’s never going to be in the movie.” And I go, “You watch.”

The full line in question has Joker saying, “You don’t want to kill me, I’m your best friend. Besides, who’s going to give you a reach around?” after Batman threatens to kill him and it seems like Leto is leaning hard into the character’s outlandishness. Leto is known for diving deep into his roles and he did the same with Joker. Reports from Suicide Squad‘s set said that Leto took his method to a whole new level and while some stars have seemingly debunked the reports, it doesn’t seem out of character for the actor to pull out all the stops.

With Joker’s future in the DCEU uncertain, the Snyder Cut could have been Leto’s last chance to make an impression on fans. Still, rumors have swirled that if Zack Snyder’s Justice League is successful DC could very well pick up on some of the storylines the director has laid out. A return for Leto shouldn’t be ruled out – the actor is still a coveted performer in Hollywood and Joker’s story has largely been untapped in the DCEU. How Leto could return remains a mystery, as does much of the DCEU’s future, but one should never underestimate the Clown Prince of Crime.

Source: Esquire

Key Release Dates
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  • The Suicide Squad (2021)Release date: Aug 06, 2021
  • The Batman (2022)Release date: Mar 04, 2022
  • DC League of Super-Pets (2022)Release date: Jul 29, 2022
  • The Flash (2023)Release date: Jun 23, 2023
  • Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)Release date: Mar 17, 2023
  • Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2022)Release date: Dec 16, 2022
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Graeme Guttmann
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Graeme Guttmann is an editor, writer, and interviewer for Screen Rant. With a love for all things pop culture, he watches just about everything from the biggest blockbusters to reality shows like Real Housewives. He currently resides in Boston, MA where he is an MFA candidate at Emerson College for creative writing. You can follow him on Twitter @cryptograeme for pop culture commentary and random musings about pop music and just about anything else.

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