David Ayer's 'Suicide Squad' Eyes Jared Leto as the Joker

If Warner Bros. was quick to put a new actor in the Bat-suit so soon after Christian Bale occupied the role, it shouldn't come as a surprise they're willing to do the same for his nemesis, the Joker. After Heath Ledger's unforgettable performance, imagining another actor as Joker could prove difficult for fans to accept, but it looks like they'll have to get used to it sooner rather than later.

According to The Wrap, the Joker will indeed appear in Suicide Squad, with Jared Leto being sought for the role.  It had been an offer made to Ryan Gosling but he turned it down for all of the reasons many expected, which is that he didn't want to be locked into a multi-picture deal. Leto has something Gosling doesn't, though, and that's an Academy Award for his transformative performance in Dallas Buyers Club, and he'll need those skills to transform into the notorious "clown prince" of crime. The most interesting aspect of all this is that Joker is appearing in Suicide Squad at all, but it does make it more likely that Cara Delevigne's rumored role as Harley Quinn is spot-on.

With Margot Robbie on board, Will Smith and Tom Hardy circling roles, and David Fury directing, Suicide Squad is shaping up nicely in time for its release on August 5th 2016.

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More Villains and One Antihero Rumored for 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'

Well now we've seen Ben Affleck's Batman and Henry Cavill's Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which hopefully means we'll be getting a look at Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman before too long. Those are three of the heroes set to appear in the film as it builds to a future Justice League movie, but right now the only confirmed villain is Lex Luthor, played by Jesse Eisenberg. But now Latino Review has what they say is a scoop onmore bad guys the heroes will be facing, along with news on which villains won't be around.

You can probably cross off any chance of seeing the Joker in Batman v Superman, at least at this stage. There had been some rumors of Callan Mulvey taking on the role at the time he joined the cast since he's expected to play a villain. And that's probably a wise idea since many will forever associate the character with Heath Ledger and his defining performance. They also note that the Kryptonite-powered cyborg Metallo, who was originally pegged to be in Man of Steel, will not be making Superman's life miserable.

As for which villains may be showing up, they're mostly rivals of Batman rather than Supes. The first is the serial killer Victor Zsasz, who kills his victims with a blade and makes a mark on his own body to tally up his kills. He actually appeared briefly in Batman Begins as one of Falcone's hired goons.

Another Bat-villain is the assassin, David Cain, one of the world's top killers and a man who helped train a young Bruce Wayne. He's also been affiliated with the League of Assassins and is the father of Cassandra Cain who was briefly Batgirl. Cain has worked alongside Lex Luthor, as well, including one notable storyline in which he was hired by Luthor to frame Bruce Wayne for murder. Could we see some of that story bleed into the film, too? Latino Review says Cain will meet up with Luthor's bodyguard, Mercy Graves, to plot an assassination. Apparently, Graves is the role Tao Okamoto has signed on for.

And finally there's Luthor's mouthpiece, Morgan Edge, a slimy PR guy who spouts anti-Superman rhetoric for LexCorp. In the film, Edge and Luthor are said to share a past growing up as part of the most notorious gang in Hob's Bay. Lois Lane will have a verbal showdown with Edge on a talk show earlier on, which could be interesting to see if the role is played by Scoot McNairy as the site suggests.

Not really into either the villain or hero category is Amanda "The Wall" Waller, a character we saw portrayed quite well by Angela Bassett in Green Lantern. In the comics, Waller is the tough-as-nails government agent who created the Suicide Squad, a team made up of "reformed" villains. the film version would be slightly different although her mistrust of superheroes remains intact. Now she'd be a U.S. senator who comes up with some type of countermeasure designed to stop Superman.  There have been whispers of Waller appearing in Justice League before, and we're probably going to get a Suicide Squad film at some point so introducing her now would make a lot of sense. She's also a recurring character on Arrow, played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson.

Stay tuned for any confirmations from Warner Bros. if they come down, although probably not until Comic-Con.

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'Gotham' TV Series to Feature Young Versions of Classic Batman Villains

The Smallville model worked for more than a decade, telling the story of young Clark Kent and his path towards becoming Superman, while also introducing us youthful versions of his most nefarious enemies. Fox is hoping they can replicate that long-running success with Gotham, which is no longer just about the early adventures of Detective Jim Gordon but will include a young Bruce Wayne.

Fox chairman Kevin O'Reilly says they have full rights access to the entire library of Batman characters, revealing that that we'll see younger versions of Catwoman, the Penguin, the Riddler, and yep even the Joker.

Reilly: “This is all of the classic Batman characters. It follows the arc of how they all became what they were. I’ve read the script its really good. It’s going to be this operatic soap that has a slightly larger-than-life quality.”

But just as Smallville refrained from showing anybody in costume for most of its run, it sounds as if Gotham will carry the same policy...at least in the beginning.

Reilly: “We’re not starting in that world where the villains are in costume. You see markers for it that are delicious you see where the evolution and eccentricity where they become those characters. We don’t start off with capes and costumes.”

Bruce Wayne will be roughly 12-years-old during the series, and his parents' murder will be one of the over-arching investigations. If the series goes the way Reilly hopes, the series' final episode will have Bruce donning the Batman suit for the first time.

Not really much of a surprise here, as this approach has also worked on Arrow, and like that show it will be totally separate from Warner Bros. big screen plans. So Ben Affleck can rest easy that there won't be another Batman tugging at his cape.  [EW]

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Rumor: Juno Temple playing Harley Quinn in The Dark Knight Rises

Grist for the rumor mill, but one which may actually pan out. While Christopher Nolan managed to keep information on The Dark Knight Rises mostly under wraps, we've pretty much got everybody pegged for the characters they'll be playing. We don't know what their arc will be exactly, and hopefully that stuff will remain hidden until we see the actual movie. But there's a cloud surrounding the character played by Juno Temple(Kaboom), described simply as a "street smart Gotham girl". Even by Nolan standards that's pretty damn vague. There has to be something else to it.

Jeff Sneider over at Variety tweeted recently something that may confirm some previous guesses as to the character's true identity..

"100% RUMOR, no confirmation: Overheard at lunch in Beverly Hills - JUNO TEMPLE may be playing HARLEY QUINN in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES"

Ever since she was first announced as part of the cast, speculation has run high that she could play either Harley Quinn, a female version of Robin, or even Batgirl. I still believe one of these theories will pan out. Part of the reason is that Temple is too good of a talent to waste on some throwaway character. Her stock has exploded over the last few months, making her presence in the comic book film a major plus.

Also, if you follow Christopher Nolan's trajectory of the three films, it has a lot to do with legacies and the influence(for good or ill) of father figures. Batman's father played a role in shaping who he turned out to be. The same with The Joker, and now it appears there may be a facet of that playing out with Ra's Al Ghul. Harley Quinn is a character who looks up to The Joker in that same way. She's been completely transformed by him into a dangerous, insane replica, and her presence would be quite a thorn in Batman's side.

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