Everything We Know About James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” So Far

By Kip Mooney • On • In News News Comments Off on Everything We Know About James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” So Far

2016's Suicide Squad was a massive hit but probably the nadir of the DC Extended Universe. There were some bright spots, but it was mostly an ugly, noisy, occasionally racist mess. (And the less said about Jared Leto's the Joker, the better.) But the sequel looks amazing, based on the few things we've seen so far. That's because David Ayer is out and James Gunn is in. Warner Bros. was able to scoop him up in that brief time after he was fired by Disney for crude jokes he made on Twitter (jokes it should be noted were there before he was even hired in the first place), but before he was brought back into the MCU to make a third Guardians of the Galaxy film.

As revealed at DC's FanDome event, the cast is even more massive than before. Only a handful of actors are returning from the first film: Oscar winner Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, Margot Robbie and Jai Courtney. Sorry if you were a fan of Killer Croc or El Diablo. New additions include Idris Elba, Pete Davidson, John Cena and Peter Capaldi. Some of Gunn's repertory players are also on hand, including Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion and his brother Sean Gunn. He even got Taika Waititi to step over from the MCU for an undisclosed role. And that's just a small sampling of the cast.

Based on comments from the cast in the behind-the-scenes video (below), this will definitely be an R-rated endeavor, unless "exploding genitals" is something the MPA allows in PG-13 movies now. This means it's likely closer to the gleefully violent Birds of Prey, pushing the DCEU in a more adult direction. There might still be some growing pains, but it looks like they're figuring it out. Instead of a massive connected universe, it's better for the DC characters to play in their own sandbox and only occasionally cross over.

Check out the cast and character reveal below, as well as the FanDome sneak peek.

The Suicide Squad will hit theaters on August 6, 2021.

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About Kip Mooney

Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.