James Gunn may not be finished with the Snyderverse just yet. As the co-head of DC Studios, Gunn is reportedly open to bringing back more actors from Zack Snyder's era of the DCEU, even as he reboots the franchise with his new DCU. This aligns with the idea that a few familiar faces, like Viola Davis and John Cena, will make a universe jump in upcoming DC projects.
In a recent interview with Variety, actor Jai Courtney revealed that despite his character Captain Boomerang's death in The Suicide Squad, Gunn told him that "these rules don't really apply" in the DCU. According to Courtney, Gunn hinted that Boomerang's demise doesn't necessarily mean he's gone for good, "Just because he dies here doesn’t mean it's gone forever, right?"
"I was like, 'Come on, man. Boomerang is cool,' ... And James is like, 'You know these rules don't really apply. Just because he dies here doesn’t mean it's gone forever, right?' And I was like, 'Hell yeah.' So I have hope. Somewhere in the back of my mind, there's a prayer that we’ll see more of Boomerang one day."
Gunn in many respects, has become the re-canonizing master of the DCEU, and now DCU. Even before becoming the creative leader of DC Studios, he re-purposed and re-contextualized several Suicide Squad characters into The Suicide Squad, including Courtney's Boomerang.
As the proper DC cinematic reboot is set to begin with Superman on July 11, questions about canon have been common, especially with Peacemaker Season 2 jumping into the new universe with the same actors. Gunn has previously explained that some aspects of Season 1 will be canon to the DCU, while other events, specifically the Justice League appearing in Episode 8, will not be. This is one element of Gunn's new DCU that may leave some fans scratching their heads, as a hard reset would've been a bit tidier for fans to understand, which many believe Superman is, despite some DCEU skeletons still in the closet.
Courtney's Captain Boomerang was a notorious Australian thief skilled with weaponized boomerangs, he was first seen in Suicide Squad after being caught by the Flash and recruited into Task Force X to battle supernatural threats in Midway City. He survived the mission and had his sentence reduced. In Gunn's The Suicide Squad, he returned for another government mission, this time targeting Project Starfish in Corto Maltese. However, the mission quickly went south, and Boomerang was killed in the opening ambush, instantly setting the stakes for fans.
Will The Suicide Squad Return to the DCU?
While a full-fledged Suicide Squad movie doesn’t appear to be on James Gunn or Peter Safran's immediate slate, key elements of the team's legacy are already woven into the DCU fabric. Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr. debuted in Creature Commandos, will appear in Superman, and is expected to play a major role in Peacemaker Season 2, a significant connection, as Peacemaker killed his son in The Suicide Squad. That same series is keeping the squad's spirit alive, with two versions of Peacemaker shown in the Season 2 trailer and Gunn confirming the universe shift will be acknowledged on-screen.
Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, a constant since 2016, remains a pivotal presence and is set to headline her own DCU series in the future. Although the Squad may not reunite on the big screen anytime soon, its characters and storylines continue to influence Gunn's evolving universe, leaving open the biggest question mark of all: whether Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn will return or be recast.
