Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is taking his first leap into the DC universe this summer with The Suicide Squad. The film will act as both a soft reboot and a sequel to David Ayer's Suicide Squad (2016) with a mix of new characters as well as returning favorites.
Margot Robbie's iconic Harley Quinn will return for her third DCEU appearance, alongside Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag and Jai Courtney's Captain Boomerang. Meanwhile, the familiar trio will be joined by a slew of obscure characters played by legendary stars, including Sylvester Stallone's King Shark and Idris Elba's Bloodsport.
Alongside the theatrical release, Gunn will helm an HBO Max original series starring John Cena's "douchey Captain America" Peacemaker, who will make his live-action debut in the film. It's unclear whether the series will take place before or after the film, however, it is expected to release in 2022.
The first trailer for the film recently broke records, as it revealed DC's craziest and most violent film so far with the best look yet at the entire team. As fans prepare themselves for the August release, Warner Bros' marketing campaign is beginning to ramp up, with a new magazine cover highlighting the cast.
MAGAZINE COVER HIGHLIGHTS JAMES GUNN'S THE SUICIDE SQUAD
Den of Geek has revealed the magazine cover for its upcoming issue that will highlight James Gunn's The Suicide Squad.
The new image showcases the team's legendary cast, that will include multiple new characters and returning favorites from David Ayer's Suicide Squad.
The superhero-starring issue will hit stands on April 27 and is set to include exclusive interviews with several members of the film's cast and crew.
The issue will provide new details of the upcoming film from director James Gunn, returning DCEU stars Margot Robbie and Joel Kinnaman, as well as newcomers Idris Elba and John Cena.
On Twitter, The Suicide Squad's acclaimed director James Gunn acknowledged the issue's announcement whilst also noting that they “completely finished the movie this week” including all the VFX.
Check us out in @DenofGeekUS's massive #TheSuicideSquad cover story out April 27. Exclusive interviews with me, @MargotRobbie, @idriselba, @JohnCena, & @joelkinnaman. By the way - we completely finished the movie this week, VFX and all. Can't wait for you all to see it. 🤯 https://t.co/390OKp3l5I
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 19, 2021
THE SUICIDE SQUAD STARS SHARE THE SPOTLIGHT
The cast of The Suicide Squad taking the spotlight of a fairly major magazine cover sets the stage for more cover features in months to come. Moviegoers can expect to see plenty of this cast between now and August as the trailer plays in theaters, and more interviews continue to reveal more specific details of the plot, as little is known as of now.
Throughout the marketing campaign for the DCEU debut, James Gunn has frequently reiterated that fans shouldn't get too attached to the film's cast. This suggests that many of the villains might not make it out alive, so fans should expect to see two hours of violent comic book action along with plenty of brutal deaths throughout.
The decision to invest in such a star-studded cast will likely prove to be a profitable one for DC, as the buzz around the marketing is lining the film up for a successful box office run. However, with the release date set for August, it's hard to predict where the global box office will be by then given that the ongoing pandemic is still affecting theaters globally.
The Suicide Squad is set to release simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6.
Readers can subscribe to Den of Geek's upcoming Summer Movie preview here.
