Rumor: Suicide Squad Seeks Jared Leto As The Joker

It looks like Jared Leto is crossing over to the other side in every way.  First rumored to be up for the role of superhero magician Doctor Strange in a Marvel Cinematic Universe solo film of the same name, Leto is now rumored to be courted by DC to play the villainous Joker in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad.

Suicide Squad rumors aren’t new.  Previously, reports have been running rampant that A-list and up and coming actors, such as Tom Hardy, Ryan Gosling, Will Smith, and Margot Robbie, were in talks for roles.  The most recent one has been Jessie Eisenberg, who will be playing Lex Luthor in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which will allow for a direct connection of Suicide Squad into DC’s interconnected universe of movies.

Like all comic book histories, the Suicide Squad has a complex and sometimes confusing one.  The first version of the Suicide Squad was introduced in September of 1959 in The Brave and the Bold #25.  The second version was introduced in January of 1987 in Legends #3.  Finally in May of 1987, Secret Origins #14 introduced an “original” Suicide Squad, which gave a richer history to the Silver Age Suicide Squad introduced in The Brave and the Bold #25 — this, in turn, retconned all the Suicide Squads to make them connected.

To make things just a bit more confusing, the Suicide Squad is also sometimes called Task Force X.  You still with me?  The modern Suicide Squad is made up of a changing roster of supervillains who, to the government, are expendable if they’re caught or killed on black-ops missions.  The group is based at Belle Reve Penitentiary and commanded by Dr. Amanda Waller.  Live-action incarnations have been seen in The CW’s Smallville and, currently, in The CW’s Arrow.

The last live-action incarnation of the Joker was Heath Ledger’s portrayal in Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed The Dark Knight (2008).  Ledger passed away six months before the film’s release.  He would go on to posthumously win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Batman’s arch-nemesis.  So, it’s not a surprise that they will need a high-caliber actor to pull off what some say is the most amazing villain in comics-to-movie history.

Suicide Squad is currently set for a release date of August 5, 2016.