It looks as though Batman V Superman almost included The Joker.
During an interview with Collider, Batman V Superman director Zack Snyder revealed that the iconic Batman villain almost appeared in the upcoming DC superhero epic.
“The Joker and The Riddler both came close to being in this movie,” he revealed. “We talked about the possibility of putting them in.”
Of course, Jared Leto’s new version of The Joker has already made quite an impression… with his first appearance set for the upcoming ‘Suicide Squad’ movie.
So why didn’t he appear in Batman V Superman?
“[Screenwriter] Chris Terrio and I talked about it a lot and felt that [The Joker and The Riddler’s] mythological presence is felt in the movie and that’s cool, but I didn’t want to get my eye too far off the ball because I needed to spend the time, frankly, with Batman and Superman to understand the conflict.”
And I can’t help thinking that was probably a good idea.
We’ve already seen the iconic Superman villain Lex Luthor in the trailers… and with the return of (the now-deceased) General Zod as well as a possible Darkseid cameo, it feels as though cramming any more iconic DC villains into the movie would probably be a bad move.
Just look at Spider-Man 3.
As it stands, we do already feel the presence of The Joker in the recent Batman V Superman trailers – with glimpses of some Joker-esque graffiti reminding Batman of the true power of his nemesis.
Snyder’s comments about their mythological presence come as no surprise then… especially when it comes to The Joker. But does this mean we’ll be getting a hint of The Riddler in the upcoming movie?
Actually, it wouldn’t be the first time…
It may feel like a lifetime ago, but we’ve already seen a subtle nod to The Riddler – way back when the first Batman V Superman trailer debuted online. In fact, I covered this neat little Easter Egg over at Yahoo Movies UK… and now it seems director Zack Snyder has finally acknowledged it.
Does this mean we’ll see The Riddler return to the big screen at some point?
I can’t help hoping that perhaps the iconic Batman villain will return for Ben Affleck’s solo Batman movie… and perhaps we’ll even see him teaming up with The Joker to get one over on the Dark Knight.
But for now, we’ll have to wait and see.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice heads to cinemas on 25 March 2016.
Are you gutted that Batman V Superman won’t feature The Joker? Do you think The Riddler will return? Let us know what you think in the comments below…