Before Warner Bros could even finish the filming for “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice“, speculations were already running wild over the casting of the DC Cinematic Universe.
The one that stands out the most is, of course, their first antihero film “Suicide Squad“.
Based on the original DC Comic, Suicide Squad is a group of supervillains who find themselves going on a most unlikely mission for a shot at redemption. The Suicide Squad film was first announced last month when Warner Bros announced its full movie slate for DC Comics films. At that time, the studio only announced that “Fury” director David Ayer is set to direct the film, based on Justin Marks’ screenplay. No details were provided about its plot and cast but the film is slated for release on 5th Aug 2016.
While everything is still kept under wraps, rumour has it that “Dallas Buyers Club” actor Jared Leto will appear in the film as one of Batman’s arch enemies, The Joker.
According to The Wrap, the frontman of Thirty Seconds to Mars is in talks to play a key role in “Suicide Squad”, which is said to be The Joker. It came as no surprise as Leto previously earned himself an Oscar earlier this year for his breakthrough performance in “Dallas Buyers Club”. He even went on a major transformation for his role as John Lennon’s killer, Mark Chapman, for “Chapter 27″ too.
Both Warner Bros and Jared Leto’s reps refused to respond to the rumour and it was reported that The Joker did not appear in the original draft of the screenplay. However, it seems like the director is looking to apply some changes to the script by including The Joker in the film. An insider told The Wrap that the role was originally sought after by Ryan Gosling but he later pulled himself out of the deal that comes with options for multiple movies.
Leto is not the only rumoured cast in the film as “Now You See Me” star Jesse Eisenberg is also rumoured to play another Batman arch enemy, Lex Luthor. It was also reported that Tom Hardy, Will Smith, and Margot Robbie are in various stages of discussions to play unspecified roles in “Suicide Squad”. British model/actress Cara Delevingne also sparked speculations about her role in the film after she posted an Instagram picture of Joker’s girlfriend, Harley Quinn.
At this point, none of the actors mentioned in the reports are confirmed to play the key roles in the film since Warner Bros has not given a response to all the rumours. Besides, Jared Leto was also earlier rumoured to play Dr Stephen Strange in Marvel’s “Doctor Strange”, but that was quickly debunked because “Sherlock” star, Benedict Cumberbatch is in final negotiations to portray the Sorcerer Supreme.
What do you think about the rumours? We know both Jack Nicholson and the late Heath Ledger did incredibly good jobs in portraying The Joker but if the rumours are true, will Jared Leto surprise us with an outstanding portrayal of the villain as well? He definitely has big shoes to fill!
UPDATE (November 10th):
Scratch Cara Delevingne off the list of actors who are supposed to be play Harley Quinn.
Earlier last week, it was rumoured that the British model will be playing the psychiatrist-turned-villain but now it has been reported that another actress will be taking up the role instead. Unnamed sources have told The Collider that Margot Robbie who was close to signing on the film will be the one to portray Joker’s girlfriend instead.
Nothing else has been reported yet but this will be the first time Harley Quinn has ever been portrayed on the big screen. The character has previously been portrayed by Mia Sara in “Birds of Prey” TV series and Cassidy Alexa in “Arrow” TV series.
The female villain first appeared in “Batman: The Animated Series” and she was a psychiatrist (real name: Harleen Quinzel) interning at Arkham Asylum. She became fascinated with the Joker and volunteered to analyse the Joker. However, she became hopelessly in love with him that even the sight of her badly injured lover drove her insane. Thus, she decided to don a jester costume to become the Joker’s sidekick. She also gained her immunity to poisons and toxins after becoming a friend of supervillain Poison Ivy.
Having wrapped up the filming for “Focus” and “Z for Zachariah”, Margot Robbie is definitely an actress to watch out for after her outstanding performance as Leonardo DiCarprio’s wife in “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Besides, the Aussie actress has also signed on to star in various films including “The Taliban Shuffle”, “Tarzan” and “The Mountain Between Us”.
When it comes to the casting of Harley Quinn, who else do you have in mind? Let us know what you think in the comments box below!
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