Jared Leto May Be The Joker in the DC Cinematic Universe's SUICIDE SQUAD

When it comes to villains, there are few more popular and critical than The Joker. That's why no matter how revered Heath Ledger's iconic take on The Joker was, there would always be another actor who would have to follow in his footsteps. It looks like Jared Leto might be that actor.

The Dallas Buyers Club actor is eyeing a role that may be The Joker in Suicide Squad, the upcoming movie that will follow Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, according to TheWrap. There have been several actors attached to this movie, with names like Will Smith, Tom Hardy and Margot Robbie possibly being in talks for director David Ayer's movie.

TheWrap reports that "The Joker did not appear in Justin Marks' original draft of the screenplay, [but] Ayer is expected to rewrite the script and that revision is rumored to include The Joker." With Lex Luthor appearing in Batman v Superman, it's not a surprise that Warner Bros. wants to get The Joker into their megafranchise as soon as possible too.

Leto won an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, which was his big return to movies. The actor spent the past few years focusing on his band Thirty Seconds to Mars, but it sounds like Leto wants to get back into acting in a big way now. From what we were hearing during the Doctor Strange casting period, Leto was interested in playing Doctor Strange for Marvel Studios.

If Leto does become The Joker for Warner Bros., it'll complete a decade-long courtship between the actor and the studio. While the lead role in Green Lantern went to Ryan Reynolds, Leto was a finalist alongside Bradley Cooper and Justin Timberlake.

Suicide Squad opens on Aug. 5, 2016.