Despite the fact that Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning and bone-chilling performance of The Joker in The Dark Knight is still fresh in our minds, it seems that Warner Bros. won’t be waiting long to reintroduce Batman’s arch-nemesis in the shiny new DC Cinematic Universe. We’ve of course heard countless rumors that the character would show up in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, but a more reliable report now affirms that he’ll actually be showing up a few months later, in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad movie, and he may be played by Jared Leto.
According to TheWrap, Leto, who recently won an Academy Award for his performance in last year’s Dallas Buyers Club, is circling the role. The studio’s first choice was Ryan Gosling, but he was unwilling to sign a multi-picture deal.
This isn’t the first time that Leto’s name has come up in conversations about superhero movie casting. He appeared on several shortlists for Marvel’s Doctor Strange, but as it seems that that role has gone to Benedict Cumberbatch, Leto’s availability for a comic book movie is now wide open. Supposedly, the actor was “led to Warner Bros.” after the Doctor Strange talks dissipated, and the studio is eager to work with him.
While TheWrap admits that The Joker was not included in an early version of the Suicide Squad script, Ayer is doing rewrites and hopes to include the famous Clown Prince of Crime. This makes sense, as it would fit right in with a recent rumor that suggested that Cara Delevingne was up for the role of Harley Quinn.
Tell us, do you think that Jared Leto would make a good Joker? Or is eight years still too soon to see the character on the big screen again following Heath Ledger’s iconic performance? Let us know in the comments section below.
Suicide Squad is set to hit theaters on August 5th, 2016.