Ledger's Joker is a milestone from the approach angle of giving us a truly fresh and unexpected interpretation for the villain, at least in film. The character was unshackled to become something truly horrifying that we hadn't see before. I would argue that Hardy's Bane follows in those footsteps, although for some reason that was to the chagrin of some fans who wanted more of a CB-faithful version of the character. Jesse's Lex continues in that tradition. I think Leto's Joker probably will as well.
Someone had to be the first one to do it, and Ledger was brilliant--and he tragically died before release. Anyway, all that cemented his place on the CBM Mount Olympus.
I think that maybe the legacy of Jesse's Lex will be to help normalize that its not only acceptable but a Very Good Thing to creatively reinterpret some of these CBM characters. There are certain core ingredients to characters that should remain unchanged, features that will always "make them who they are." But so much can be done to surprise and delight us with characters. I wonder if Jesse's portrayal will herald a new normal that we may ironically come to expect a fresh and boldly inventive interpretation as a new standard, rather than getting the same old versions of characters.
Absolutely agree!
And that's what I'm wondering too. The public's collective consciousness was redefined by The Dark Knight and Heath's Joker. It created and opened up floodgates as to what a comic book world could craft. People went nuts over Heath's Joker for many reasons; his performance, how fresh the take was, and how he was written.
It's left a lasting-impact and any writer for the character, in any given medium, couldn't help but want to emulate that greatness Heath and Nolan provided for the Joker.
Ayer and Jared's Joker is also part of that revision of the character - what they can bring new to the table. But, despite the tattoo complaints, he's still very much the Joker. As far as I've seen and read, he hasn't lost any of the core elements. Just molded differently and refreshingly.
And nor has Jesse's Lex. They've simply been molded to a contemporary era. You can still see the evil genius at work in the clips, you can still see his well-educated and very twisted mind coming into play...
And yes, we can see a bit of Hackman in his public persona, which I think is going to be a clever and respectful lover-letter to the classic, and that's all it will be.
Honest to God, when we see the full performance, I think most, if not all fans, will be begging to see more of him - which would be a luxury we never got with Heath.
