‘Suicide Squad’ Cast Revealed: Jared Leto to Play the Joker, Will Smith is Deadshot

Jared Leto, Will Smith, Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney and Cara Delevingne will make up the all-star cast of Warner Bros.’ supervillain tentpole “Suicide Squad,” it was announced on Tuesday.

Based on the DC comicbook, the story centers on the team of supervillains who are given a chance at redemption by the government. The catch: Their mission will probably kill them all.

The actors’ names had long been rumored for the high-profile movie, which opens Aug. 5, 2016, but their deals and characters hadn’t been finalized.

Here’s the official cast/character list:

Jared Leto – The Joker

Will Smith – Deadshot

Tom Hardy – Rick Flag

Margot Robbie – Harley Quinn

Jai Courtney – Boomerang

Cara Delevingne – Enchantress

“Suicide Squad,” directed by David Ayer and produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, will begin shooting next April in Toronto.

According to insiders, Jesse Eisenberg is also in talks to play Lex Luthor in the film, a role he will first play in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” though the status of his deal is unknown.

“The Warner Bros. roots are deep on this one,” Warner Bros. president Greg Silverman said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under David Ayer’s amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero.”

Warners has long viewed this project as the “Ocean’s Eleven” of comicbook movies and has been looking to load up the roster with top tier talent.

Warners still has the role of Amanda Waller, the character who oversees the team (similar to Nick Fury in the Marvel universe), to cast before the film goes into production. The studio’s shortlist of actresses being eyed for the role includes Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Oprah Winfrey, whom sources say would be WB’s first choice for the part.

Leto, who is making his first pic since winning the Oscar for “Dallas Buyers Club,” is repped by CAA and Untitled.

Smith can be seen next in Warner Bros.’ “Focus” which also stars Robbie. Both are reppped by CAA, with Robbie also repped by Management 360 and Aran Michael Management, and Smith repped by Overbrook Entertainment.

Hardy is currently filming “The Revenant” opposite Leonardo DiCaprio which bows next Christmas. He is repped by CAA.

The WME-repped Delevingne, an English model-turned-actress, can next be seen in Warner Bros.’ “Pan.”

Courtney appears in the upcoming “Terminator” reboot as well as Universal’s “Unbroken” and Lionsgate’s “Insurgent,” and is repped by UTA and Silver Lining Entertainment.

via Variety