Suicide Squad: Jared Leto promises to make Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson 'proud' as The Joker

Suicide Squad is due in UK cinemas next August

Jared Leto plays iconic psychotic villain The Joker in Suicide Squad

There is no need to remind Jared Leto how big The Joker’s shoes are.

The Oscar-winning actor is playing the psychotic baddie in Suicide Squad, following in the iconic footsteps of Heath Ledger from 2008’s The Dark Knight and Jack Nicholson from 1989’s Batman.

But as fans debate whether or not Leto could possibly rival such acclaimed performances, he has taken matters into his own hands and promised to make his predecessors “proud”.

Using the oh-so-modern medium of meme, Leto posted a picture of Ledger and Nicholson together in character and overlaid the words: “Don’t worry, Leto will make us proud”. The Joker newcomer than posted a heart emoji as the caption.

Leto’s take on The Joker certainly looks set to be memorable. His first character photo revealed green hair, black eyeliner, blood-red lipstick, a grill and multiple tattoos, while co-stars shared stories of being sent live rats, dead pigs and bullets in the post from Leto during filming.

“I took a pretty deep dive,” he told Empire. “But this was a unique opportunity and I couldn’t imagine doing it another way. It was fun, playing those psychological games.”

Leto is joined in Suicide Squad by Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Cara Delevingne. The storyline follows a group of criminals hired by the government to take on dangerous black-ops in return for shortened prison sentences.

It arrives in UK cinemas on 5 August 2016.