Suicide Squad: David Ayer and Zack Snyder guarantee big things from Jared Leto's Joker

"You’re going to get taken on a journey that I don’t know that everyone’s ready for"

If we hadn't of seen the new trailer that dropped last week, we'd have assumed Suicide Squad director David Ayer's praise of actor Jared Leto was just another spot of promotion.

But we have, so when Ayer says that Leto's version of notorious comic book villain The Joker will make all "the hairs stand up on the back of your neck," we believe him.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the filmmaker - who described the Batman villain as "...the best nemesis ever" - said: "I love helping actors find what methodology works best for them; it's like tailoring a suit."

"But it really made an event when he would show up on set, which did translate into the power on screen he has."

Zack Snyder, director of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, had this to say about Leto: "The commitment to the role, you're going to see that really shine through in a way that you're not used to seeing actors in movies really go all the way with.

"You're going to get taken on a journey with Jared that I don't know that everyone's ready for..."

Leto's no stranger to physically altering his appearance for film roles, evidenced most recently in Dallas Buyers Club, an Oscar-winning role for which the actor lost 30 pounds.

This marks the first screen appearance of The Joker following the death of Heath Ledger who posthumously won an Oscar for playing the character in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008).

Suicide Squad also stars Will Smith, Cara Delevingne, Jai Courtney and Margot Robbie as comic book favourite Harley Quinn.

The film will be released on 5 August.