'Suicide Squad': David Ayer Admits Jared Leto's The Joker Performance Freaked Him Out

The release of the second Suicide Squad trailer has definitely re-ignited the excitement over the film, especially now that there are more footages of The Joker. Jared Leto's version of the supervillain looks like it's less camp, more terror, and director David Ayer has just confirmed that even he was terrified of the character!

Ayer recently spoke to USA Today about Suicide Squad, where he revealed that Leto had taken a huge responsibility by taking on the role.

"It's a scary character to tackle," Ayer said of The Joker. "This iteration of him, people will realize there really is a continuity of history - there is a lot of respect for what the Joker represents, who he is as a character. He is the best known villain in fiction so there's an incredible responsibility there to also be faithful to what he is but at the same time push him into this next world, next time, next phase."

The Joker has undergone several psychotic incarnations, and it would be hard to top Heath Ledger's chilling performance in The Dark Knight. However, fans believe that Leto will turn in an excellent performance that is already hinted upon in the trailer. After all, the Academy Award winner's appearance in Suicide Squad has been good enough to freak Ayer out.

"Big time! The hairs stand up on the back of your neck," he said, adding that enjoyed working with the Clown Prince of Crime.

"If you're a Batman fan, you have to love/hate the Joker because he's the best nemesis ever. Just to have him on one of my film sets, it was a very memorable thing for me," Ayer said.

Suicide Squad will also feature other memorable characters like Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Deadshot (Will Smith), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) and Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). The film will premiere on August 5.