Jared Leto Circling Joker Role in Warner Bros.' 'Suicide Squad'
David Ayer is directing the Warner Bros. movie
Source: THR
Jared Leto, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club, has not officially signed on to his next project, but there's a chance it could be a big superhero film.
The actor may be under consideration for the role of the Joker in the Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment project Suicide Squad, sources confirm to THR.
Warner Bros. and Leto's reps did not return THR's requests for comment, and this deal could be in the very early stages.
David Ayer is attached to direct the project. [2]The Suicide Squad team, also known as Task Force X, was created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru and first appeared in Brave and the Bold No. 25. Its most recent iteration includes characters Deadshot, King Shark, Captain Boomerang and Harley Quinn.
The DC property about convicted supervillains who are given a chance to redeem themselves through dangerous missions has been in the works for some time at Warner Bros., but it has really picked up steam in the past few months. The film is slated for release on Aug. 5, 2016.
After the Oscars, Leto spent time focusing on his music as the lead singer of Thirty Seconds to Mars while he looked for his next project. His name has come up in connection with Marvel's Doctor Strange, but, as with many of these high-profile superhero projects, many names circulate before the role is cast.
Leto spoke with THR on Nov. 6 and implied that he was finally zeroing on his next role.
"I do [have my eye on one project]. I am excited about what's happening," he told THR. "There are incredible opportunities and I'm very grateful for them. I'm looking forward to making films again now that the tour is wrapping up. It's going to be an exciting 2015."
However, he wouldn't reveal the project, saying he was "under lock and key."
"I've sworn to keep my mouth shut but I think that very shortly there will be something to talk about, that's for sure," he said.
'Suicide Squad' Cast Revealed: Jared Leto to Play the Joker, Will Smith is Deadshot
Source: Variety
Jared Leto, Will Smith, Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney and Cara Delevingne will make up the all-star cast of Warner Bros.' supervillain tentpole "Suicide Squad," it was announced on Tuesday.
Based on the DC comicbook, the story centers on the team of supervillains who are given a chance at redemption by the government. The catch: Their mission will probably kill them all.
The actors' names had long been rumored for the high-profile movie, which opens Aug. 5, 2016, but their deals and characters hadn't been finalized.
Here's the official cast/character list:
Jared Leto – The Joker
Will Smith – Deadshot
Tom Hardy – Rick Flag
Margot Robbie – Harley Quinn
Jai Courtney – Boomerang
Cara Delevingne – Enchantress
"Suicide Squad," directed by David Ayer and produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, will begin shooting next April in Toronto.
According to insiders, Jesse Eisenberg is also in talks to play Lex Luthor in the film, a role he will first play in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," though the status of his deal is unknown.
"The Warner Bros. roots are deep on this one," Warner Bros. president Greg Silverman said in a statement. "We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under David Ayer's amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero."
Warners has long viewed this project as the "Ocean's Eleven" of comicbook movies and has been looking to load up the roster with top tier talent.
Warners still has the role of Amanda Waller, the character who oversees the team (similar to Nick Fury in the Marvel universe), to cast before the film goes into production. The studio's shortlist of actresses being eyed for the role includes Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Oprah Winfrey, whom sources say would be WB's first choice for the part.
Leto, who is making his first pic since winning the Oscar for "Dallas Buyers Club," is repped by CAA and Untitled.
Smith can be seen next in Warner Bros.' "Focus" which also stars Robbie. Both are reppped by CAA, with Robbie also repped by Management 360 and Aran Michael Management, and Smith repped by Overbrook Entertainment.
Hardy is currently filming "The Revenant" opposite Leonardo DiCaprio which bows next Christmas. He is repped by CAA.
The WME-repped Delevingne, an English model-turned-actress, can next be seen in Warner Bros.' "Pan."
Courtney appears in the upcoming "Terminator" reboot as well as Universal's "Unbroken" and Lionsgate's "Insurgent," and is repped by UTA and Silver Lining Entertainment.
I'll only buy a ticket if I'm assured there will be a scene of the Joker sitting in the back room at a mall jewelers' shop for half an hour getting his grills fitted.
Suicide Squad will be an important document on the human condition and it should premiere in the Smithsonian Castle. A statue should be built in reverence to this movie, and it's going to make Guardians of the Galaxy look like Troma. Is that true? That's a scandalous accusation and I can't wait for the show down. Except I'm not sure I'll be able to say for sure who won, since I might not rewatch these movies, or think about them much. I'd call them each general cultural mayhem and fun enough to me.
But fun isn't even fun anymore. We're doomed.
I think the not fun here is using excessive force, and everyone making this movie is excited about making this movie, I can tell, their excitement is excessive, this is comic books, which as non-existent fantasy will always be and can only be as important as living people are willing to imagine, mythology creation is occurring, and they're pushing hard, I think it's ridiculous, I think it's outrageous, and I can't wait for this one.
You know this is kind of appealing to me too for some strange reason, as a complete non-fan of comic book movies. It looks fun and dark, which seems like a rare combination (and which Fury Road did so well).
Yea, but comic book's idea of irreverent or edgy is still a general bore. The Deadpool trailer was too annoying and stupid to even finish and while this one looks like it wants to tone a little darker and weirder, the comic book movies are generally doomed because they have to keep some basic commitment to their comic origins. That's bad because the inherent drama within film can never encompass comic books story wise. Mad Max: Fury Road is fascinating because it had so much potential for elaborated backstory but ignored it completely and ignored any idea of being like the original Mad Max films. I credit George Miller's evolution and ingenious filmmaking. The comics book films should dare to be different, a lot more different, than their origins, but good word with these films partly start with the comic fan base approving what they do.
The trailer of Batman V Superman looks like Frank Miller in an Happy Meal. And Marvel is trying to adapt big storylines of the comics, but they fail to fond the right scale. Marvel is HUGE! But the storyline is an easter egg.
My dream would be a disconnected Comic universe with new stories for the superheroes. X movie shouldn't prepare us for Y which is a preparation for Z: it's just insane. Ultimately, movies aren't episodes from a TV show. A season shouldn't last ten years.
Quote from: Gold Trumpet on July 13, 2015, 09:54:10 PM
Yea, but comic book's idea of irreverent or edgy is still a general bore. The Deadpool trailer was too annoying and stupid to even finish and while this one looks like it wants to tone a little darker and weirder, the comic book movies are generally doomed because they have to keep some basic commitment to their comic origins. That's bad because the inherent drama within film can never encompass comic books story wise. Mad Max: Fury Road is fascinating because it had so much potential for elaborated backstory but ignored it completely and ignored any idea of being like the original Mad Max films. I credit George Miller's evolution and ingenious filmmaking. The comics book films should dare to be different, a lot more different, than their origins, but good word with these films partly start with the comic fan base approving what they do.
this.
fuck comic book movies. fuck "edgy" comic book movies. yeah, the bad guy is complex, I'm sure. the hero is complex. everybody is complex. now buy some popcorn.
I think that trailer (especially with that music) is dog shit.
The trailer is horribly edited, but still managed to intrigue me, so that says something.
I actually kinda love that cover song though.
First impressions: Not great, but a million miles more optimistic about this than Bats v Supes. Will Smith is in a different movie.
Quote from: jenkins<3 on July 13, 2015, 11:29:12 PMJared Leto and Will Smith are both musicians... I mean if they both made a song the soundtrack would already be becoming a compliation... I really hope Willow Smith is on the soundtrack. Do you think Jared and Will can sing together and kinda Go Ninja, Go Ninja this movie? Nah that's too silly. Or is it silly enough???
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/31/Wild_wild_west_poster.jpg)
I don't care what you think about these kind of movies, THAT's a fucking trailer.
Haha they're censoring 'bismillah' now?
holy shit this was so disappointing!
the trailer made it look like a lot of fun. i was pretty pissed off.
i was under the impression that the main villain was the joker, and it ends up being someone that isn't threatening or relevant at all.
the harley quinn and joker stuff was really all that was good about this.
the cgi was hilariously bad, borderline windows 98.
also margot robbie develops an accent out of nowhere a third through the film? other than that she was perfect.
however it is nice that they're putting the after credits bonus scenes almost immediately after the movie ends.
Yeah, this HAS to be a too-many-cooks situation. I mean, I can't imagine even David Ayer having this kind of "vision" for this thing.
It's just so all over the map bonkers. The main villains (the bad ones, not the good bad ones) are clearly an after thought... I think that thought came in the form of someone asking "why does this team even exist?". There are elements that seem to be left over from whatever this was originally supposed to be, but it's so shoddily pasted together, it's near impossible to tell who started this telephone game of movie.
Production and post were pretty much a shitshow...chasing a release date with basically a first draft script, studio mandated reshoots to adjust tone in the wake of BvS, bakeoffs in the edit...basically all the classic reasons these megabudget disasters happen. Ayer was also angling to get WB to throw down some big money for his next project and tried to do the Chis Nolan "one-for-them, one-for-me" thing, but they ended up pulling out at the end of the day after all this crazy shit.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/suicide-squads-secret-drama-rushed-916693 (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/suicide-squads-secret-drama-rushed-916693)
'Suicide Squad's' Secret Drama: Rushed Production, Competing Cuts, High Anxiety
by Kim Masters
The upheaval like that behind Warner Bros.' DC team-up is becoming a staple of studio franchise filmmaking.
"Better late than never." That was one Warner Bros. executive's reaction to the excitement at Suicide Squad's splashy Aug. 1 premiere in New York. Tracking indicates the film could open to more than $140 million domestically and potentially hand the studio its first unequivocal megahit since American Sniper's $547.4 million in December 2014. With March's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice grossing $873 million worldwide but failing to impress audiences or reach the hoped-for $1 billion mark, Warners still urgently needs to jump-start its critical DC Comics universe, raising the stakes for Suicide Squad, which cost at least $175 million to make.
Yet if the villain team-up ultimately works — and it has drawn some harsh early reviews — it will be in spite of the kind of behind-the-scenes drama that is becoming typical for giant franchise movies that now are the main focus of the studio business: a production schedule engineered to meet an ambitious release date; a director, David Ayer (Fury), untested in making tentpole movies; and studio executives, brimming with anxiety, who are ready to intercede forcefully as they attempt to protect a branded asset. Often, efforts to fix perceived problems ratchet up costs, which drive anxiety ever higher. In extreme cases, such as Fox's troubled Fantastic Four, the intervention is so aggressive that it becomes unclear what it means to be the director. (In each such case, studios are careful to stress that the credited director is on-scene and in charge, which is essential to avoid DGA issues. And the wise director plays along.)
So despite grueling moments, multiple editors and competing cuts, the production of Suicide Squad barely stands out in today's landscape. In a joint statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Ayer and Warner Bros. production president Greg Silverman say: "This was an amazing experience. We did a lot of experimentation and collaboration along the way. But we are both very proud of the result. This is a David Ayer film, and Warners is proud to present it."
Warners chief Kevin Tsujihara announced the project in October 2014 as part of a slate of 10 DC films stretching into 2020. Though the studio believed there was enough time to get the movie done, a source with ties to the project says it was a sprint from the start. "[Ayer] wrote the script in like, six weeks, and they just went," he says, arguing that the whole process would have benefited if Ayer, 48, had been given more time to work. But another source closely involved with the film says once it was dated, pushing back the release was not an option: "It's not just that you've told the public the movie is coming, you've made huge deals around the world with huge branding partners, with merchandise partners. It's a really big deal to move a tentpole date."
In Ayer, Warner Bros. enlisted a director who had never made a giant, effects-packed action movie. Hiring filmmakers who lack such experience is the trend, and it's often out of necessity. "There are a lot of people who don't want to direct those movies and that's a huge problem," says one producer with franchise experience. "A lot of the proven guys are back-to-back with their stuff, or they want to develop it for five years, and there's a machine that has to be fed. And there's the economics." Seasoned directors are expensive, meaning studios turn to those with less experience, relying on instinct that they will be up to the job. Sometimes it works (Colin Trevorrow on Jurassic World), and sometimes it doesn't (James Bobin on Alice Through the Looking Glass).
A source with knowledge of events says Warners executives, nervous from the start, grew more anxious after they were blindsided and deeply rattled by the tepid response to BvS. "Kevin was really pissed about damage to the brand," says one executive close to the studio. A key concern for Warners executives was that Suicide Squad didn't deliver on the fun, edgy tone promised in the strong teaser trailer for the film. So while Ayer pursued his original vision, Warners set about working on a different cut, with an assist from Trailer Park, the company that had made the teaser.
By the time the film was done, multiple editors had been brought into the process, though only John Gilroy is credited. (A source says he left by the end of the process and that the final editor was Michael Tronick.) "When you have big tentpoles and time pressure, you pull in resources from every which way you can," says this source. "You can't do it the way it used to be, with one editor and one assistant editor."
In May, Ayer's more somber version and a lighter, studio-favored version were tested with audiences in Northern California. "If there are multiple opinions that aren't in sync, you go down multiple tracks — two tracks at least," says an insider. "That was the case here for a period of time, always trying to get to a place where you have consensus." Those associated with the film insist Ayer agreed to and participated in the process. Once feedback on the two versions was analyzed, it became clear it was possible to get to "a very common-ground place." (The studio-favored version with more characters introduced early in the film and jazzed-up graphics won.) Getting to that place of consensus, however, required millions of dollars' worth of additional photography.
Other sources describe a fraught process — one cites "a lot of panic and ego instead of calmly addressing the tonal issue." Clearly all wasn't sitting right with Ayer, who in June suddenly dropped his longtime agent at CAA and defected to WME, though the agency won him back in a day. "He was under a lot — a lot — of pressure," says one person with knowledge of the situation, arguing that Ayer was exhausted and needed time to process conflicting ideas.
And there may have been other strains. Just weeks before the two versions were tested, Warner Bros. declined to ante up for Ayer's next project, Bright, which will reunite him with Suicide Squad star Will Smith. He ended up at Netflix, which made a staggering $90 million deal. Nonetheless, a day or two after Ayer fired and rehired CAA, another cut of the film was screened for a test audience, and sources say the results were strong enough that there was an upbeat plane ride back to Los Angeles.
Now the question is whether the film will deliver for an industry thirsty for something, anything, that will work in a summer bereft of live-action hits. Though reviews suggest the competing visions for the movie may have taken a toll (THR's critic calls the film "puzzlingly confused"), BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield says, "I've learned long ago there is not always a connection between reviews and box office and financial success." At the same time, it is imperative for Warners to build DC movies fans love like they do the Marvel pics.
Even on the day of the premiere, one insider fretted about whether Suicide Squad would mirror BvS' huge opening and weak legs. Another veteran says the goal is survival: "The movie's got to do $750 million, $800 million to break even. If they get anywhere close to that, they'll consider it a win."