David Ayer Talks Jared Leto's Joker 

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Jared Leto\'s \'amazing\' Joker on tap for \'Suicide Squad\'

Oscar-winning actor even freaked out his director on the set of the villain-laden movie.

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Jared Leto's 'amazing' Joker on tap for 'Suicide Squad'

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY 2:53 p.m. EST January 19, 2016

Jared Leto's take on the Joker made his first appearance via David Ayer's Twitter.

Sometimes being an insane supervillain on screen just means being an insane supervillain all the time.

That\'s the tactic taken by Jared Leto playing the Joker, Batman\'s archest of enemies and the true wild card of the dastardly bunch in the upcoming

(in theaters Aug. 5). Fans got a first glimpse of Leto\'s take on the infamous Clown Prince of Crime at Comic-Con, and a new trailer for the movie debuts as part of a

Deadshot (Will Smith), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) and the Joker\'s former main squeeze Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) are more of an injustice league as they\'re put together with other bad guys in a fighting unit formed to take on a powerful and mysterious adversary in

. Just how Leto\'s tattooed, green-haired, flamboyantly dressed weirdo plays into everything is still under wraps, though his castmates got a full dose of the Joker from the beginning: The Oscar-winning actor went completely method, gifting "presents" to actors before production started — Robbie received a rat, which became the cast\'s unofficial mascot — and never breaking character during filming.

2016 brings Batman, Superman and the 'Dawn' of a new superhero universe

director David Ayer says of Joker. "This iteration of him, people will realize there really is a continuity of history — there is a lot of respect for what the Joker represents, who he is as a character. He is the best known villain in fiction so there’s an incredible responsibility there to also be faithful to what he is but at the same time push him into this next world, next time, next phase."

Ayer adds that "people kept their distance" from Leto when he was in 24/7 Joker mode. "I love helping actors find what methodology works best for them. It’s like tailoring a suit — it’s not one size fits all. But it really made an event when he would show up on set. There was almost a pageantry to him, which did translate into the character and the power on screen he has."

Jared Leto's Joker (right, with Margot Robbie) transcends bad and even evil, according to 'Suicide Squad' director David Ayer.

"Big time. The hairs stand up on the back of your neck," says the director, a longtime comic-book who grew up on the old 1960s Batman TV show. " If you\'re a Batman fan, you have to love/hate the Joker because he’s the best nemesis ever. Just to have him on one of my film sets, it was a very memorable thing for me."

director Zack Snyder got his Dark Knight foe, played by Ben Affleck (who also makes an appearance in

producer, never was on the Toronto set with Leto "but I was very much looped in on the crazy stuff happening with that," he says, laughing.

New Batman Ben Affleck 'inspired' by his superhero director Zack Snyder

What Leto brings to the Joker — the first on screen since the late Heath Ledger\'s Oscar-winning

"The commitment to the role, you’re going to see that really shine through in a way that you’re not used to seeing actors in movies really go all the way with (in) every little moment and every little breath," Snyder says. "You’re going to get taken on a journey with Jared that I don’t know that everyone’s ready for but I think it will be amazing."

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