A new Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) set photo reveals the movie’s Joker stand-in actor has the same tattoos - mostly - as Jared Leto in Suicide Squad. As implied by its title, the DC film picks up shortly after Harley and Mr. J have broken up, forcing Harley to fend for herself on the mean streets of Gotham City. For a while, it seemed that Leto might be reprising his role as the Clown Prince of Crime opposite his Suicide Squad costar Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, with the Oscar-winner teasing as much on social media. But in the end, Birds of Prey’s Joker was played by a stand-in only.

Director Cathy Yan explained the decision to not bring Leto back as Joker ahead of the movie’s release, pointing out the film is about Harley “emancipating” herself from her ex-boyfriend and not the latter. Still, the character can be glimpsed from behind in a handful of shots early on in Birds of Prey (namely, while Harley is reflecting back on her relationship with him). As it turns out, the actor who stood-in for Joker was properly made up for the occasion.

Twitter user and DC fan Mikhail Villarreal has posted a Birds of Prey set photo featuring the movie’s Joker stand-in actor during a break. As you can see below, he’s clearly modeled after Leto’s Joker and even has his facial tattoos… that is, save for the infamous “Damaged” one on his forehead, anyway.

Given you never get a straight-on shot of Joker’s face in Birds of Prey, there wasn’t really any practical reason for the actor who played him to have the “Damaged” tattoo. However, the film does include a shot that reveals part of the left side of his face (which Villarreal included in the same tweet), so it make sense the actor had one of Leto’s tattoos in that area. Of course, Leto’s Joker tattoos and general appearance in Suicide Squad caused quite the ruckus online when the first official photo of the character dropped all those years ago. Still, since Birds of Prey exists in the same DCEU continuity as David Ayer’s movie, it’s good it maintained some continuity in terms of Joker’s look - lest it introduce another plot hole in the larger DCEU.

As for Leto, it’s not clear if the actor will ever play Joker again. It’s already confirmed he won’t be back in James Gunn’s sequel, The Suicide Squad, in 2021. Furthermore, Leto was reportedly upset with Warner Bros. for green-lighting Todd Phillips’ non-DCEU Joker movie last year and tried to get it cancelled, making his return to the role all the more unlikely. Robbie, on the other hand, will be back in The Suicide Squad and is currently filming her scenes. And while Birds of Prey’s disappointing box office run means a sequel is probably not going to happen, there’s a strong chance Harley will return in a different spinoff down the line (maybe even Gotham City Sirens). In that sense, her “emancipation” from Mr. J. has already been successful in more ways than one.

Source: Mikhail Villarreal/Twitter

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