Jared Leto is The Joker in David Ayer's "Suicide Squad." (Photo : Twitter/@TheOsteoCorps)
Jared Leto reportedly wanted to impress Jack Nicholson from 1989's "Batman" and the late Heath Ledger from 2008's "The Dark Knight" with his role as The Joker in David Ayer's upcoming "Suicide Squad."
On Dec. 1, Leto took to Instagram to share a black-and-white photo of Nicholson and Ledger as The Joker from their respective films with an overset text that reads, "Don't worry, Leto will make us proud." In the caption, he wrote, "Great work @gaunted! Was wondering who made it! Amazing. I see a few thought it was me but it wasn't. Just thought it was clever sweet + fun."
Set to play the role of one of the most iconic anti-heroes in the comic book history, Leto knew that he had some big shoes to fill, according to People. The actor has already impressed the fans with his modern take of The Joker, as well as his co-stars, by giving them gifts several months ago.
In August, Jay Hernandez, who is playing El Diablo, received a deck of cards from Leto. In June, Leto also gave a live rat to co-star Margot Robbie, who is set to play Harley Quinn, and bullets to Will Smith, who is playing Deadshot.
Interestingly, Smith told Beats 1 radio station that he had never actually met Leto. The "Men in Black" actor added that he and Leto had worked together for six months and they had never exchanged a word outside of "action" and 'cut." Smith also mentioned that they had never said "hello" and he had only spoken to him as Deadshot and him as The Joker.
Meanwhile, "Suicide Squad" centers on the titular team of supervillains that have been captured by the United States government. The team has to execute "high-risk" mission for the government in exchange for general pardon and small bombs were implanted within them, so that they will not make an attempt to escape or do a commotion.
Ayer's "Suicide Squad" will also feature a love triangle with its characters Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and The Joker while the Enchantress is set to be the villain.
Along with Leto, Smith, Robbie, and Hernandez, "Suicide Squad" also stars Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, Common, Scott Eastwood, Adam Beach, Adawale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Karen Fukuhara, Cara Delevigne, and Jai Courtney, among others.
Ayer's "Suicide Squad" is set to premiere in theaters on Aug. 5, 2016.
Watch the official "Suicide Squad" Comic-Con trailer here:
