Suicide Squad trailer and release date: Director reveals new details on The Joker's role

There will be a lot more to The Joker in Suicide Squad than villainous acts and the menacing laugh. Director David Ayer and producer Zack Snyder offered some interesting insights on Jared Leto's take on the popular DC villain.

"It's a scary character to tackle," said Ayer during a recent interview with USA Today. "This iteration of him, people will realize there really is a continuity of history — there is a lot of respect for what the Joker represents, who he is as a character. He is the best known villain in fiction so there's an incredible responsibility there to also be faithful to what he is but at the same time push him into this next world, next time, next phase."

Ayer and Snyder also weighed in on Leto's much-talked-about method approach to playing The Joker. "The hairs stand up on the back of your neck. If you're a Batman fan, you have to love/hate the Joker because he's the best nemesis ever. Just to have him on one of my film sets, it was a very memorable thing for me," said Ayer.

Suicide Squad producer Zack Snyder did not get a chance to spend too much time on the sets of the film but he was apparently "very much looped in on the crazy stuff happening with that".

"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 (in) every little moment and every little breath. You're going to get taken on a journey with Jared that I don't know that everyone's ready for but I think it will be amazing," said Snyder.

Suicide Squad opens in theatres on 5 August 2016.