'Birds of Prey' director Cathy Yan squashes fans hopes, reveals why Jared Leto's Joker wasn't included in the film
Jared Leto's 'Joker' isn't exactly the most beloved version of the character, through no fault of his own, really. Some fans had hoped that the upcoming movie 'Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)' might feature the character (and do better justice to him than 'Suicide Squad' did) but those hopes were quashed when it was revealed that Ewan McGregor's Roman Sionis / Black Mask would be the villain of the movie instead.
Now 'Birds of Prey' director Cathy Yan has opened up about why they chose to not include Leto's 'Joker' in an interview with Heroic Hollywood. “Well for us, I think the movie starts with the breakup and then it’s all about Harley and we just wanted to work with that and whatever we needed him to be," she explained. "Just to show that he existed and that there was a breakup, but the focus of the movie is definitely not on the Joker.”
Earlier this year, the movie's star Margot Robbie had spoken about the decision at a press event and explained that there were really only two ways the film could have panned out.
"It was either going to be a complete Harley and Joker story or Joker has got to be out of the picture," Robbie said, according to ComicBook.com. "I really wanted to see Harley in a girl gang and I felt there was a huge gap in the market for a girl gang ensemble action film. I felt like no one was doing that and I couldn't understand why, especially a comic book movie."
The movie follows the adventures of a group of powerful women characters including Robbie's Harley Quinn, Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) and Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) as they blaze a path of their own across Gotham City.
'Birds of Prey' will be arriving in theaters on February 7.