James Gunn Formally Reveals the Cast of ‘The Suicide Squad’

Suicide Squad
James Gunn’s reinvention of DC’s Suicide Squad has an official casting list now… But don’t expect them all to make it out of the movie.

 

After teasing news for the past few days, James Gunn dropped a bombshell by unveiling a massive slate of actors that will take part in the sequel to David Ayer’s 2016 bad guy bash. The cast listing he unveiled utilized the typeface used in John Ostrander’s 1987-1992 Suicide Squad run, which is what the new movie will be based on rather than the New 52 relaunch (which is what Ayer’s movie was inspired by). The announcement can be seen below:

 

 

With a cast of 20 actors in major roles, there’s quite a bit to break down.

  • Let’s start with the four returning characters from the first film: Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn (who will be coming off of next year’s Birds of Prey), Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag.
  • The other actors with their roles confirmed include David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher, and Steve Agee as King Shark.
  • Trades have also confirmed the involvement of the likes of Idris Elba, John Cena, Taika Waititi, Storm Reid, Nathan Fillion, Peter Capaldi, Pete Davidson, and Flula Borg, but have not identified who they might be playing.
  • Lastly, there are a few additions to the cast that we’re just now learning about, including Michael Rooker, Mayling Ng, Jennifer Holland, Juan Diego Botto, Alice Braga, Tinashe Kajese, Julio Ruiz, Joaquín Cosío, and Sean Gunn. The jury’s out on who any of these actors have been cast as.

Details so far are limited, with some story rumors indicating that a new Task Force X team has been sent to South America to find a weapon that two terrorist factions are fighting over. The approach on this film is said to be different than its peppy, punk-themed predecessor, with an R-rating highly likely and a higher body count than its predecessor to justify such a rating.

 

The Suicide Squad will be released on August 6, 2021. Following completion of the film, James Gunn is set to go back to Marvel Studios for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (his last movie in that series), although it is expected that he will have some involvement with both DC Films and Marvel going forward.