In David Ayer’s 2016 “Suicide Squad” film, the Joker is more of a side character in Harley Quinn’s (Margot Robbie) storyline than a core member of the Suicide Squad team. Nevertheless, portraying arguably the most iconic villain in comic book movie history was something Leto took plenty seriously.
Notoriously, Leto developed a reputation around this time as an on-set terror for sending gross gifts to some of his co-stars — though in 2021, Leto told Entertainment Weekly that rumors of some of the more vile items he supposedly gifted cast members were fabricated. Leto did, however, expose himself to disturbing material in order to better understand his “Suicide Squad” character’s mindset. “There was a point where I was researching violence and was watching a lot of things that… things that it’s arguable if anybody should even see,” he told GQ. “It starts to just get inside of you, violence and some of those things.”
As Ayer states in his tweet about the Ayer Cut, the Joker is effectively a prop in “Suicide Squad,” which is at least a little strange in light of these sorts of comments from Leto. Presumably, then, if the Ayer Cut ever becomes a reality, fans will witness for the first time the fruits of Leto’s purportedly intense preparation for the part.
