Suicide Squad? Never heard of it. Oscar-winning actor and 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto is putting even more distance between himself and the Joker with a prestigious AF Andy Warhol biopic, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Leto will portray the pop art god and produce the film, which is being set up as a "mainstream project" instead of a low-budget indie.
Warhol will be written by Terence Winter, a name you should probably recognize from his previous work on The Wolf of Wall Street and The Sopranos. Winter's script will take inspiration from Victor Bockris' Warhol: The Biography. Michael De Luca, the producer behind the top-shelf biopics Moneyball and The Social Network, is developing the project alongside Leto.
Warhol, who passed away in 1987 at the age of 58, was one of the most prominent figures in the American art world for decades. In addition to his oft-emulated pop art stylings, Warhol was revered for his work with The Velvet Underground and the legacy of The Factory. As the go-to locale for artistic figures of the period, The Factory became synonymous with Warhol's brand and continued impact on American culture.
Leto has a busy few years ahead, having recently signed on for a mystery role in the forthcoming Blade Runner sequel. "We are thrilled that Jared has agreed to play a key role in the Blade Runner sequel," Alcon Entertainment co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said last month. "He is a phenomenal actor, and we know he will create a truly memorable, never before seen character."
