Whilst the original Suicide Squad was a smash hit at the box-office, managing to gross over $700 million, critics and fans were left mostly underwhelmed by the film itself. With Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn at the helm of the soft reboot/sequel The Suicide Squad, many grew excited over the prospect of Gunn infusing his signature zany flair in order to breathe some life into the property.
Many of the original film’s cast returns, including Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney and Viola Davis as their respective characters of Harley Quinn, Rick Flag, Captain Boomerang and Amanda Waller. However, a whole new set of actors have joined the film too, including Idris Elba, John Cena, Michael Rooker, Alice Braga, Nathan Fillion, Taika Waititi and many, many more, who have yet to have their roles disclosed.
The film is well underway into its post-production, after having completed its filming in late February. Because of this, The Suicide Squad is still on track for its August 6, 2021 release. With DC FanDome promising plenty of news for its upcoming films, The Suicide Squad panel should provide new details to tide fans over...
NEWS
For DC FanDome’s The Suicide Squad panel, director James Gunn is joined by the entire cast of the film to reveal which character each actor is playing. The director will also be providing a preview of what fans can expect from the film.
Q&A
James Gunn says The Suicide Squad is the most fun he has ever had working on a movie. He's now taking questions from fans. The director finds Amanda Waller to be a really interesting character, since reading John Ostrander's run on The Suicide Squad. Gunn was the most excited to write for Harley Quinn as a character.
Gunn spoke to John Ostrander on his visits to set, he thinks of the film as a sequel to Ostrander's comics rather than an adaptation. Gunn's favorite super-villain as a child was the mischievous Bat-Mite! There also more explosions than all of the MCU films combined, according to his special effects coordinator!
WHO'S PLAYING WHO
The cast's role have been revealed. Viola Davis is Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman is Rick Flag , Michael Rooker is Savant, Flula Borg is Javelin, Margot Robbie is Harley Quinn, David Dastmalchian is Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior is Ratcatcher II, Idris Elba is Bloodsport, Steve Agee is King Shark, Mayling Ng is Mongal, Peter Capaldi is The Thinker, Alice Braga is Sol Soria, Pete Davidson is Blackguard, Nathan Fillion is TDK, Sean Gunn is Weasel, Jai Courtney is Captain Boomerang, Juan Diego Botto is President Luna, Jennifer Holland is Emilia Harcourt, Storm Reid is Tyla, Bloodsport's daughter and John Cena is Peacemaker.
TRIVIA GAME AND MISCELLANEOUS DETAILS
The cast is going head-to-head in a game, and are now picking teams. Team leaders are Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis. The game is a multiple choice DC trivia game. The first question is who has had their own solo comic book series. Viola's team scores with the answer Harley Quinn and Peacemaker.
Pete Davidson has more tattoos than Harley Quinn - it's official.
Jennifer Holland is up with a question: which character would they sacrifice. Steve Agee would sacrifice Michael Rooker's Savant and Holland agrees.
Storm Reid is playing Bloodsport's daughter, Tyla. The film has two villains, who are original characters: Presidente Luna and Major General Suarez.
Bloodsport has been imprisoned for shooting Superman.
James Gunn says this set of actors is the "greatest cast [he has] worked with by far". Peter Capaldi says the set was a warm welcome.
Viola Davis' team wins the game.
BEHIND THE SCENES SNEAK PEAK
A new sneak peak is now debuting. Behind-the-scenes filming and all new footage. Interviews with the cast and crew.
Peacemaker is a "douchey Captain America," says John Cena. "Everyone is exploding, genitals, heads, arms, legs," according to Flula Borg.
The Suicide Squad is the biggest movie James Gunn has ever made, according to him.
POSTER
Following the panel, James Gunn also treated fans to a brand new poster.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Wow. The Suicide Squad's panel brought a multitude of new details and information, revealing the entire cast's roles as well as brand new footage from the film in a behind-the-scenes featurette. We've also learned the film's villains: Presidente Luna and Major General Suarez, who should both prove to be formidable foes for the Squad.
New details have been revealed, particularly surrounding Bloodsport and his background. Despite his obscurity, this seems like a character that will be developed significantly and fill in for where Deadshot left off.
We also learned a bit more about James Gunn and his thought process going into making the film.
The sneak peek shows off multiple locations, such as a tropical jungle, a prison and a snowy tundra, indicating that we should see multiple missions in the film. The film should prove to be a much different take on the Suicide Squad compared to the original, being "a gritty 1970s war movie, combined with the brilliance of James Gunn's characters and comedy" according to producer Peter Safran.
The Suicide Squad should prove to be a very unique and unpredictable film, with the promise of twists and turns from its director and that fans will not know what to expect. Joel Kinnaman tells fans to not get too attached.
The Suicide Squad is set to release theatrically on August 6, 2021.
