Here's the first photo teasing Jared Leto as the Joker

Next year, Oscar winner Jared Leto will take on the role of one of the most iconic villains in the DC universe.

He'll appear as Batman's main foe, the Joker, in Warner Bros.' "Suicide Squad," about a group of DC villains working for a secret government group.

Leto will be the first actor to play the role since Heath Ledger in 2008's "The Dark Knight."

Fans have been waiting anxiously for the first image of Leto as the Clown Prince of Crime.

Director David Ayer ("Fury") has been sharing photos of the film on social media. Earlier this week, he shared an image of the cast; however, Leto was nowhere to be found.

Twitter/David Ayer

Thursday evening, Ayer shared the first image of Leto with the Joker's iconic green hair. 

That's not all. 

The image Ayer tweeted out depicts a very iconic cover from DC entertainment.

Here's a larger version of the image:

@DavidAyerMovies/Twitter

And here's the cover of the New York Times best-selling graphic novel, "The Killing Joke."

DC

The story, from Alan Moore and Brian Bollard, is one of the most chilling Batman tales. It revolves around the Joker paralyzing Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) with a gun shot in her own apartment. If that isn't enough, he then snap photos of her nude. The graphic novel leaves it unclear as to whether the Joker sexually violates Barbara as well. 

The clown then kidnaps Barbara's father, commissioner Gordon, has him stripped down and tied to a chair, and forces him to look at photos of his daughter.

As you can guess, it's not the easiest of material to read.

It's not clear whether Ayer's image of Leto is a big hint at the type of Joker he's going for in the film, or whether the photo he released is just paying homage to Moore's classic.

"Suicide Squad" is in theaters August 5, 2016.