After winning an Oscar this year for his portrayal of a transgendered woman with HIV in Dallas Buyers Club, Jared Leto is ready to take on more complicated and potentially controversial roles. Warner Bros. officially confirmed on Monday that the rising star will portray the Joker in their upcoming DC Comics film Suicide Squad, making him the first actor to take on the Clown Prince of Crime since Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning take on the character in The Dark Knight. 

The Warner Brox. press release revealed that Suicide Squad, a spin-off film about a team of supervillains who work for the government in exchange for shorter prison sentences, will be filled with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Fans were ecstatic to hear that, after his successful stint as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, Tom Hardy will portray another DC Comics villain, squad leader Rick Flag. Will Smith will play master assassin Deadshot, The Wolf of Wall Street’s Margot Robbie will play fan-favorite Harley Quinn, supermodel Cara Delevingne has been cast as Enchantress and Jai Courtney will portray Boomerang. Each of these exciting casting announcements were eclipsed, however, when the studio confirmed rumors that Leto will play the Joker.

Before The Dark Knight, many believed it would be impossible to beat Jack Nicholson’s 1989 Batman portrayal of the psychopathic Clown Prince of Crime. Ledger went on to meet the lofty expectations thrown onto him and win a posthumous Oscar for his take on the character in 2008, meaning the bar will be higher than ever for Leto.

Fury‘s David Ayer will write and direct the film, and as Ayer is known for his dark, character-driven, action-packed dramas, critics are expecting the Joker to be an intense and demanding role regardless of how small the part may be. Fans will have to wait until the film’s August 2016 release to see whether or not Leto is able to handle the character and all the expectations that come along with being the Joker.