Jared Leto Laughed More As His Newest Franchise Villain Than The Joker - MCE Notices | California State Portal

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Masters of the Universe (2026)

When it comes to big blockbuster franchises, Jared Leto hasn’t had the smoothest of journeys over the last decade. Despite having several divisive roles and franchise flops (often both at the same time), it can never be said that the Oscar-winner and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman never took any risks with his performances.

When looking at Leto’s role as the Joker ten years ago in 2016’s Suicide Squad, some appreciated his fresh take on the Clown Prince of Crime, while others had a harder time getting behind his more modern gangster look with his slicked-back hair and face tattoos. However, most agree that Jared Leto’s Joker didn’t really have an iconic laugh worthy of the classic DC supervillain.

Fast-forward a decade, and it’s pretty fascinating to look at Jared Leto’s most recent major franchise villain role in Masters of the Universe, directed by Travis Knight. Putting the “Leto” in “Skeletor”, the actor is currently receiving some of the strongest praise of his blockbuster career he’s ever had.

10 Years Ago, Jared Leto Played One Of The Most Divisive Live-Action Jokers

Naturally, every actor who’s played the Joker gets compared to those who came before, from Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger to Mark Hamill’s iconic performance in Batman: The Animated Series and Arkham games. While Leto’s Joker certainly stood apart from past iterations, it was pretty dang polarizing, presented as a modern and more serious gangster.

While there was appreciation for Suicide Squad for bringing Joker and Harley Quinn’s relationship to the big screen for the first time, there were still strong criticisms of Leto’s overall portrayal. Likewise, one of the biggest criticisms concerned The Joker’s laugh. Not only does Leto’s Joker rarely laugh in the DCEU, but the laugh itself is pretty divisive when he does.

Rather than being maniacal and full of dark glee as seen with past versions, the laugh from Leto’s Joker is far more forced and deliberate, seemingly meant to taunt and mock his enemies more than serving as a reflection of his own twisted psyche. As a result, it was yet another hurdle for viewers to get behind his depiction when he did actually laugh (which was few and far between).

Now, Jared Leto’s Skeletor Has The Very Best (And Intentionally Too-Long) Evil Laugh

Skeletor fisting his arms in Masters of the Universe

Ten years later, Jared Leto seems to have finally found the perfect redemptive role with Skeletor in Masters of the Universe. He still took some risks, like developing his own sinister voice for the legendary villain rather than trying to replicate the more nasal voice of the classic Skeletor from the 80s cartoon. However, they seem to have paid off, as the reception to his character has been far more positive than that of many of his past franchise roles, including the DCEU’s Joker.

To that point, Leto’s Skeletor was clearly allowed to fully embrace the classic dramatic theatricality that had made the villain such an enduring icon, including his signature evil laughs. Rather than holding back, Leto leans completely into Skeletor’s over-the-top nature.

As one of the movie’s best recurring gags, Skeletor’s sinister laughter often continues several seconds longer than it should, a hilarious nod to his modern online reputation as a major meme icon and to videos of him laughing on a loop. That said, the new movie manages to balance that reputation without turning Skeletor into a complete joke. He’s still plenty evil and threatening (while also being an absolute diva, not unlike the OG Skeletor).

At the end of the day, it’s pretty ironic that the actor who once gave one of the most divisive performances of The Joker, who hardly laughed, has now delivered another major pop culture villain performance with one of the best (and most frequent) evil laughs in recent memory, easily making Leto’s Skeletor one of the best parts of Masters of the Universe overall.

Masters of the Universe is now playing in theaters from Mattel Studios and Amazon MGM Studios.