Suicide Squad has become a pretty pivotal film for Warner Bros. and the DC Extended Universe, but the hype for this supervillain team-up film has been relatively strong, as its release date approaches. In addition to a big-name cast, and the inclusion of some pretty iconic DC Comics characters (from Viola Davis as Amanda Waller to Jared Leto and Margot Robbie as Joker and Harley Quinn), Suicide Squad seems to be weaving together a whole lot of DC Comics mythos in order to tell its story and introduce its respective characters.

To that end, fans have been invested a great deal of speculation in the surprise reveals and long-term ramifications for the DCEU that may come out of Suicide Squad's storyline. And one of the biggest rumors surrounding the film has been that Jared Leto's Joker could actually have a secret identity that's connected to Batman. However, as you can see above, Suicide Squad director David Ayer is shooting down that possibility, in no uncertain terms.

Joker Rumor is Dead

(Photo: Warner Bros.)

As you heard Ayer say: Jared Leto's Joker is not actually Jason Todd, aka the second boy to take on the mantle of Robin the Boy Wonder. In comic book lore, Jason was actually killed by Joker in the famous 1988-89 story "Death in the Family," after the fanbase of the time elected to have Jason killed off (they didn't like him much). However, Jason Todd would return to the DC Comics universe, having been resurrected in the 2005-2006 storyline, "Under the Red Hood." He remains a prominent character in the DC "Rebirth" continuity, now serving as an anti-hero focal point of the "Dark Trinity," alongside the fallen Amazon Artemis and Superman's clone, Bizarro.

After "Under the Red Hood" was adapted into a successful animated film, rumor have swirled that Ben Affleck's upcoming Batman solo film could in fact adapt the storyline into a live-action movie. Needless to say, that rumor was largely hinging on the other rumor about the identity of Leto's Joker; if Joker was Jason Todd, it would make a faithful "Under the Red Hood" Batman movie hard to pull off. At the risk of speaking out of turn: I think many DC fans would prefer a Ben Affleck-directed Batman: Under the Red Hood adaptation to a Joker reveal lifted from the Batman Beyond cartoon show of the 2000s. But that's just me.

Suicide Squad will be in theaters on August 5th. Wonder Woman will follow on June 2, 2017; Justice League on November 17, 2017; Aquaman on July 27, 2018; Shazam on April 5, 2019; Justice League 2 on June 14, 2019; Cyborg on April 3, 2020; and Green Lantern Corps on July 24, 2020. The Flash movie release date is TBD.