Jared Leto Wants His Joker to Go Head-to-Head With Ben Affleck's Batman

Jared Leto has big plans for The Joker, including going head-to-head with Ben Affleck's Batman.

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Suicide Squad comes out this week. Perhaps you've heard of it. Director David Ayer's well-hyped take on the classic antihero story prominently features a decidedly 2016 edition of The Joker, previously brought to the big screen with iconic performances from Jack Nicholson and the late Heath Ledger. This time around, it's Oscar-winning 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto in the driver's seat and, well, things clearly got interesting during the shoot. But if Leto has his way, this Joker will soon face off with Mr. Man of Bats himself, Ben Affleck.

"I hope it's an introduction (to the Joker) and not the end!" Leto told the Toronto Sun in a recent interview. "Because I could easily just play the Joker a couple more times and then retire. Because it's so fulfilling and so creative and it's so imaginative. It's really difficult to think about doing anything else!" In fact, our guy Leto already has some pretty solid plans for more Jokery.

"I think it would be incredible to see Batman and the Joker go head-to-head!" Leto told the Toronto Sun. "This Batman and this Joker. I mean, I don't know, that might be too much! But that would be fun." Given that Ben Affleck has publicly declared his promise to do right by Batman on multiple occasions, a one-on-one showdown certainly isn't out of the question and would undoubtedly be better than Batfleck's most recent tickle fight.

In an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe Monday, Suicide Squad director David Ayer expressed just how crucial the Leto Joker has been in bringing his film to life. "It's not just playing the role and doing the work on set in front of the camera," Ayer said. "The way he treated it and how serious he was about it, that sort of rubbed off on the crew and the other actors. He really made the movie and the photography of the film much more of an event."

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Ayer also revealed that he and Leto quickly formed a special bond during the Suicide Squad shoot, with Leto often confiding in Ayer privately for insight on his much-discussed process. "I would be his Batman," Ayer explained. "I would be the guy that he could talk to."

We'll see how all of that worked out when Suicide Squad hits theaters this Friday.

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