{"id":204577,"date":"2025-10-16T16:38:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T16:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/204577\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T16:38:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T16:38:09","slug":"why-is-hollywood-still-betting-on-jared-leto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/204577\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is Hollywood Still Betting on Jared Leto?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In early October, Disney held the glitzy world premiere of \u201cTron: Ares,\u201d<\/a> the latest in their technologically envelope-pushing series, in Hollywood. The massive event included a red carpet with activations from Tesla and a real-life light-cycle, the signature vehicle from the franchise, that you could climb on top of.<\/p>\n

The cast was there, as was the movie\u2019s director Joachim R\u00f8nning, and even Nine Inch Nails composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross made the trek. But it was actor Jared Leto \u2014 the marquee star of \u201cTron: Ares\u201d \u2014 who made the most striking impression, as he took the stage after R\u00f8nning\u2019s introduction to speak about what an amazing experience he\u2019d had on the Disney film.<\/p>\n

It was an odd sight. Here he was introducing a $180 million Hollywood movie, from one of the remaining legacy studios, even though the actor, who this year was the subject of some pretty severe sexual misconduct allegations<\/a>, hasn\u2019t had a hit movie in nearly a decade, when he played the Joker in David Ayer\u2019s divisive 2016 super-villain saga \u201cSuicide Squad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps unsurprisingly, \u201cTron: Ares\u201d flopped at the box office<\/a> on opening weekend, bringing in just $33.5 million \u2014 lower than the opening gross of \u201cTron: Legacy\u201d 15 years ago. That\u2019s par for the course with Leto now.<\/p>\n

\u201cTron: Ares\u201d is just the latest in a string of disappointments from the Oscar-winning actor, whose relatively bare filmography over the last decade contains pricey and embarrassing flops like \u201cMorbius\u201d and little-seen curios, where he\u2019s often hiding under layers of make-up or cumbersome prosthetics. It\u2019s enough to question what\u2019s next for a star who hasn\u2019t basked in critical praise for years.<\/p>\n

Perhaps \u201cTron: Ares\u201d was the last gasp. Several agents who spoke to TheWrap said studios are no longer banking on the star, and indicated his time leading franchises or big-budget films is over.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the two projects he previously had on his upcoming docket \u2013 the Barry Levinson JFK thriller \u201cAssassination\u201d and \u201cLunik Heist,\u201d from \u201cSoul\u201d co-director Kemp Powers, are not moving forward.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

One agent pointed out that Leto has been attached to \u201cTron: Ares\u201d since before \u201cMorbius\u201d bombed \u2014 he boarded the project in 2017 and is a credited producer on the final film \u2014 and has secured few additional projects in the ensuing time. Indeed, that 2022 Sony Marvel movie was one of Leto\u2019s biggest busts so far, grossing just $168 million worldwide against a budget of $83 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s had \u2018Tron: Ares\u2019 for many years. I think even before \u2018Morbius\u2019 \u2013 that\u2019s how long it took to develop and make \u2018Tron: Ares,\u2019\u201d the agent said. \u201cSo in that context, what studios are banking on him since 2021?\u201d<\/p>\n

Of \u201cMasters of the Universe,\u201d<\/a> a big budget fantasy film due next year from Amazon MGM in which he plays the villainous Skeletor, the agent said: \u201cSupporting role where he\u2019s unrecognizable. What lead role, let alone above the title role, has Leto gotten since 2021?\u201d<\/p>\n

A representative for Leto did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Humble beginnings<\/p>\n

Leto rose to prominence in the mid-1990s on ABC drama series \u201cMy So-Called Life.\u201d The show, created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick, only lasted a single season but was lauded for its ability to wrestle with serious social issues of the day, like homophobia and sexual assault. And Leto, as Jordan Catalano, the object of affection for main character Angela Chase (played by Claire Danes), certainly made an impression. With his piercing blue eyes and chiseled cheekbones, he was everybody\u2019s crush.<\/p>\n

After the show was canceled, Leto toggled between more commercial fare (like 1998\u2019s \u201cUrban Legend,\u201d part of the post-\u201cScream\u201d teen slasher revival of the period) and artier material (he has a small role in Terence Malick\u2019s \u201cThe Thin Red Line,\u201d also in 1998, and had standout supporting roles in David Fincher\u2019s \u201cFight Club\u201d and Mary Harron\u2019s \u201cAmerican Psycho\u201d in 1999 and 2000, respectively). By 2000, Darren Aronofsky had cast him as the lead in his drug drama \u201cRequiem for a Dream.\u201d In 2002, he re-teamed with Fincher for the Hitchcockian \u201cPanic Room\u201d and in 2004 had a smaller role in Oliver Stone\u2019s historic epic \u201cAlexander\u201d as Hephaestion, a general who led Alexander the Great\u2019s army.<\/p>\n

\"jared-leto-dallas-buyers-club\"Jared Leto peaked with an Oscar win for his role in \u201cDallas Buyers Club\u201d (Focus Features)<\/p>\n

But Leto never led a bona fide box office hit, instead being drawn to roles like playing Mark David Chapman, the man who murdered John Lennon, in 2007\u2019s \u201cChapter 27,\u201d which made less than $200,000. Ever heard of 2006\u2019s \u201cLonely Hearts?\u201d What about 2009\u2019s \u201cMr. Nobody\u201d?<\/p>\n

At the same time, Leto\u2019s rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars \u2014 for which he serves as frontman, lead singer, guitar player, etc. \u2014 started to take off with the release of its second album \u201cA Beautiful Lie\u201d in 2005, which was certified platinum. As he focused on music, he faded away from the big screen.<\/p>\n

That is, until \u201cDallas Buyers Club\u201d rolled around. The 2013 Focus Features indie ended up being a smash, making more than $55 million on a budget of just $5 million, and Leto, as a transgender AIDS patient, was the film\u2019s beating heart. While the performance was hotly debated and the conversation around it has grown more contentious in the years that followed, it was enough to win him the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award, with his co-star Matthew McConaughey taking home Best Actor.<\/p>\n

After that, the world was Leto\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Post-Oscar fatigue<\/p>\n

Following the success of \u201cDallas Buyers Club,\u201d he made decisions that any actor on the ascent probably would make \u2013 he signed up to be the Joker in 2016\u2019s \u201cSuicide Squad,\u201d then thought of as a foundational pillar of a shared, DC Comics-based universe in the style of Marvel\u2019s MCU. But the movie, while a financial hit (it made nearly $750 million worldwide), weathered a particularly difficult production that eventually saw Warner Bros. wrestle away control from the film\u2019s director David Ayer. Leto\u2019s performance, as a heavily tattooed Clown Prince of Crime, was one of the movie\u2019s more contentious elements, and much of his performance wound up on the cutting room floor while his fellow actors complained about his method acting antics on set.<\/p>\n

The supposed franchise starter was more of a one-and-done.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlade Runner 2049\u201d followed a year later, in 2017. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, it served as a sequel to Ridley Scott\u2019s original masterpiece, and followed a new detective (Ryan Gosling) through a snowy futuristic landscape. Leto played Niander Wallace, the CEO of the Wallace Corporation, who in the sequel serves as the successor to the Tyrell Corporation from the first film. The movie was brilliant and critically well received but didn\u2019t drum up any business, earning just $276 million worldwide on a budget estimated to be around $185 million. Plans for another sequel were quietly shuttered although a new television series set in the world of \u201cBlade Runner\u201d will arrive on Amazon\u2019s Prime Video next year.<\/p>\n

\"jared-leto-suicide-squad-image\"Jared Leto\u2019s The Joker was essentially a glorified cameo in \u201cSuicide Squad,\u201d with his take on the character divisive for fans. (Warner Bros.)<\/p>\n

The next few years would be even drearier \u2013 Leto appeared in \u201cThe Outsider,\u201d a thriller that was shot years before and eventually wound up on Netflix in 2018, and co-starred in \u201cThe Little Things,\u201d a \u201990s-style detective movie that was simultaneously released in theaters and on HBO Max as part of Project Popcorn in 2021. (It made $30 million on a budget of $30 million.) And when Zack Snyder was expanding his \u201cJustice League\u201d for a direct-to-HBO Max extended cut, Leto shot new footage as Joker for a single scene.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Leto appeared in Ridley Scott\u2019s \u201cHouse of Gucci\u201d as Paolo Gucci under heavy prosthetics. Initially tipped as a potential Oscar contender, it garnered a sole nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling and made $153 million globally, which would have been a solid number if the movie hadn\u2019t cost a reported $75 million.<\/p>\n

The next year saw the release of the Leto-led \u201cMorbius,\u201d based on the Spider-Man villain \u2014 at long last, Leto\u2019s chance to lead his own superhero franchise. Roasted by critics (it has a 15% on Rotten Tomatoes), the film brought in $167.5 million on a budget reportedly north of $83 million. It received five Golden Raspberry Awards nominations (taking home the prize for Worst Picture) and along with last year\u2019s \u201cKraven the Hunter\u201d put a nail in the coffin of Sony\u2019s Marvel franchise expansion plans.<\/p>\n

Then in 2023, Leto had a bit part in Disney\u2019s \u201cHaunted Mansion\u201d as the Hatbox Ghost, a malevolent spirit who haunts the mansion and a fan-favorite character from the Disneyland attraction of the same name. But the CG-rendered character clouded Leto\u2019s visage to more closely resemble the character from the ride \u2014 his star power, such that it was, was rendered moot. No matter, the $150 million Disney film flopped with $117.5 million worldwide.<\/p>\n

\"morbius-jared-leto-image\"Jared Leto in \u201cMorbius,\u201d which proved to be a massive bust. (Sony Pictures)<\/p>\n

Now what?<\/p>\n

\u201cTron: Ares\u201d came at a particularly fraught time for Leto.<\/p>\n

Earlier in 2025, an expose by Air Mail entitled \u201cThe Cult of Leto\u201d<\/a> documented allegations of sexual misconduct by nine women. No charges have been filed and Leto\u2019s representative denied them at the time. <\/p>\n

Leto was crucial to getting \u201cTron: Ares\u201d made \u2014 it was a true passion project for the actor, who helped revive the sequel with his attachment after, in 2015, production was suspended following the disappointing box office of Disney\u2019s \u201cTomorrowland.\u201d But that was then.<\/p>\n

With the one-two punch of \u201cMorbius\u201d and \u201cTron: Ares,\u201d not to mention the string of misses throughout the last decade, it seems that \u2014 in \u201cTron\u201d terms \u2014 Leto might have finally reached the end of the line.<\/p>\n

Umberto Gonzalez contributed reporting to this story.<\/p>\n

\t\t
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