Masters of the Universe proves that Jared Leto‘s failure to play The Joker in the DCEU was not due to a lack of time on-screen. The live-action He-Man movie gives the actor far more time and quality material to develop his character. Unfortunately, he proves little better at portraying Skeletor than he did the Clown Prince of Crime.
The issue of how long Jared Leto had to win over audiences as The Joker first came up following the release of 2016’s Suicide Squad. Originally, director David Ayer had planned to use the movie to set up the DCEU version of Joker, building to bigger parts later on. However, apart from the scenes involving the origin of Harley Quinn, most of this material was cut. This included a subplot which would have seen The Joker teaming with Enchantress in the final act.
Fans of Jared Leto and the Snyderverse have contended that he was a fantastic choice for Joker. Most audiences disagreed, however, finding his take on the character off-putting. Reports of his bad behavior while method acting (including sending disgusting gifts to his co-stars) did not help. For a decade, Leto’s defenders claimed he could have delivered a performance to rival that of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight had all his scenes not been cut. However, his performance as Skeletor in Masters of the Universe seems to disprove this idea.
Even with more time, Jared Leto isn’t threatening
It cannot be denied that Jared Leto has a more prominent role in Masters of the Universe than in Suicide Squad. However, he makes the same mistakes in playing Skeletor that he did in his portrayal of The Joker. Chief among these going too far in playing up he sinister aspects of the character while neglecting the comedic ones.
While a psychotic maniac to varying degrees, all versions of The Joker are a showman at their core. They seek to inspire laughter, even if the only one laughing at the joke is them. Leto’s take on The Joker, by contrast, was a murderous gangster who only occasionally laughed and rarely smiled.
Leto’s Skeletor suffers from similar issues. There is a camp factor the two villains share, which Leto neglects completely. This issue is only exacerbated by the rest of the cast understanding the assignment and not playing things as seriously as Leto.
Leto’s Skeletor delivers dramatic soliloquies, only to pause before attempting a punchline. This sudden shifting of gears ruins the flow of every scene he is in. The only reason it is less noticeable than in Suicide Squad is thanks to the efforts of Masters of the Universe’s CGI artists, who are able to animate more expressive features onto Skeletor than Leto can convey with his voice.
