Much in the same tradition in 2007-08 when Christopher Nolan was teasing images of Heath Ledger’s take on the iconic Batman villain — The Joker — director of the upcoming DC comic adaptation of “The Suicide Squad” David Ayer has teased an image of Jared Leto’s take on the Clown Prince of Crime.
This is an homage to the classic graphic novel, “The Killing Joke.” Considered by many as the ultimate Batman vs. Joker story.
This is after the director tweeted a photo of the rest of the cast, of which Leto was suspiciously missing (he’s wrapping up a tour with his band).
Of course, we can anticipate the Internet to respond rationally, as it has before, when film adaptations of their favorite comic books hit the big screen (most people tend to forget how angry fans where when Ledger was cast as the Joker, and before that when Michael Keaton was cast as Batman in the late 80s).
This is also a part of DC’s new cinematic universe, and also the first time the Joker has appeared on the big screen outside a Batman film. Between Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and DC’s Cinematic Universe, there are more than 20 superhero films set between now and 2020. That’s about four superhero films a year.
Leto has big shoes to fill, as besides Ledger the character was also portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the 80s and Ceaser Romero in the 60s TV series. Mark Hamil has voiced the character in various Batman projects, including the animated series.
“The Suicide Squad” is set for the summer of 2016, following the release of “Batman v Superman” in May.
The JOE-DOWN 