We Don't Care What Jared Leto Did On The Set Of Suicide Squad

Jared Leto's just cray-zee, isn't he? The Oscar-winning 30 Seconds To Mars frontrunner just can't stop shocking everyone with all the zany antics he's got up to becoming the Joker for Suicide Squad.

Before we got a look at him in action in the Comic-Con First Look trailer, all we had to go on was that awful picture and the well-repeated story that he sent Margot Robbie a live rat because he was just so in character. Then there was Will Smith saying Leto had gone so method he felt he'd never actually met him.

Things have quietened down on the "scandalous" behind-the-scenes frontas great trailer after great trailer has been released, but that's not stoppedeye-rolling details totally; it was later reportedhe sent a dead pig to the set, because that doesn't break studio regulations. Things have really come to a head this week though, with stories that he sent condoms and anal beads to Robbie and Smith.

OK, enough is enoughJared:we don't care.

Now before I go on, I want to say I think Leto's Joker will probably be good. I hated (and still do) that first image, but everything of him in action has looked pretty interesting, accentuated by it being totally unclear how he actually fits into the film. And I'm sure in his own little way all this stuff will have helped the actor immerse himself in the part. But that's not why it's being made such a big deal of.

After all, Joker is simultaneously Suicide Squad's biggest selling point and most questionable element. For while The Clown Prince of Crime is a very versatile character -to the point where Mark Hamill, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger and if you stretch definition Caesar Romero have delivered totally distinct, yet all iconic, turns -the shadow of what Ledger did in The Dark Knight looms large over Suicide Squad. Leto doesn't just have to do something new, he has to do it knowing people are going to be comparing himto the late actor at every turn.

All this weird sh*t isn't just to help him get into character (if was people wouldn't be shouting it from the rooftops). It's because it's the only way to prove without footage Leto's on the right track.You can cast charisma-vacuum Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang because who gives a f*ck? The Joker needs care and attention, and going full-method shows people you're not taking the responsibility lightly.

Although I'm not going to totally blame the actor.There were theories last year that Warner Bros. allowed fans near the set of the film so they'd leak photos of scenes to show off the controversial character designs in action, something that was backed up bysecurity seemingto only get worse as location shooting continued. That and the carefully seeded "for the fans, not the critics" argument by the cast of Batman V Superman (even Ben Affleck, eventually) suggests the studio isn't above meddling with fan discussion, and this looks like the latest, hackneyed attempt. The gradual roll-out of information is tooperfectly timed to be randomised.

But is it working? It was a novel trick when it first emerged, but is now getting more ridiculous and as a result less interesting. Why can't an actor just play the Joker then go back to normal? Romero didn't even shave his moustache.

Suicide Squad is in cinemas from 4th August 2016.