The new Joker film has apparently left Jared Leto “alienated and upset.”

Joaquin Phoenix starred in the DC origin story out last week.

According to a deep dive into the creation of the solo Joker film by the Hollywood Reporter, “(studio boss Kevin) Tsujihara greenlit Joker, which cost less than $70 million, leaving Jared Leto — who played Joker in Suicide Squad — alienated and upset by the move.”

Leto recently opened up about his role in Suicide Squad, admitting that he was often “isolated” on production and that most of his sequences were “contained.”

He even described himself as “off in the corner of the cafeteria watching all the other kids.”

Leto, an Oscar winner, had previously expressed his uncertainty regarding his future involvement in the DC Extended Universe.

In an interview post the announcement of Phoenix’s Joker film, he’d said, “I’m a little confused, too. But yeah, there are a couple of things happening in the DC world.” He’d added, “I love the Joker. He’s a great character and really fun character to play. But it’s a big universe and when you play the Joker, there’s no ownership there. You have the honour of holding the baton for a little while and then passing it off. There are other films that are in development and I’m excited to see what comes from them.”

Following excellent praise for his performance in the film and its box office success, Phoenix has stated that he would be extremely interested in reprising his role.

The actor sat down with Peter Travers on Popcorn with Peter Travers, where he informed the host that he’s excited for a sequel so they can see how far down the rabbit hole the Joker can go.

Phoenix stated, “I wouldn’t have thought of this as my dream role. But now, honestly, I can’t stop thinking about it.

“I talked to [director] Todd a lot about what else we might be able to do, in general, just working together, but also specifically, if there’s something else we can do with Joker that might be interesting.

“So, it ended up being a dream role. It’s nothing that I really wanted to do prior to working on this movie.”

Suicide Squad is presently filming a soft reboot under James Gunn’s direction, although Leto has yet to be featured in any of the cast announcements.

Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, John Cena, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman, Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, Pete Davidson, Storm Reid, Taika Waititi, Sean Gunn, David Dastmalchian, Peter Capaldi, and Viola Davis are among the cast members.