Continuing a piping hot streak of diverse and challenging roles, Jared Leto has inked a deal to headline Martin Zandvliet’s WWII thriller as The Outsider.
Hatched over at Waypoint Entertainment and Linson Entertainment, Zandvliet’s wartime feature is situated in Japan during the fallout of World War II. Featuring a script by Andrew Baldwin (Bastille Day), Leto will headline the fish-out-of-water story as “an imprisoned American soldier who is released with the help of his yakuza cellmate. Now free, he sets out to earn their respect and repay his debt while navigating the dangerous criminal underworld.”
From his nuanced, award-winning turn in Dallas Buyers Club to what looks to be a bat-shit insane performance as The Joker in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, Leto has showcased a mesmerizing intensity across his recent work, and The Outsider – acting as Zandvliet’s English-language debut – ought to offer up another meaty role for the singer-cum-actor to sink his teeth into.
As for Zandvliet, the Danish filmmaker earned praise for his work on Land of Mine following its bow at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
The Outsider has placed its crosshairs on a summer shoot when Ken Kao, John Linson and Art Linson (Fight Club) will leverage producing duties. Leto, on the other hand, will next be seen terrorizing just about every member of Task Force X as Warner’s Clown Prince of Crime when Suicide Squad lands in August.
