After Suicide Squad 2 failed to find momentum under director Gavin O’Connor and writer Todd Stashwick, the studio brought in Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director James Gunn to breathe new life into Suicide Squad 2. The sequel to the 2016 film is now known as The Suicide Squad, which would seem to indicate that they’re looking to distance themselves a little from the first film. Understandable, as despite it’s nearly $750 million global box office haul, it wasn’t particularly beloved by critics, and appeared to be the victim of some hasty editing to counter the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice backlash.
But now with Gunn as both writer and director, The Suicide Squad will likely be a very different film. Gunn has said on social media that he hopes to deliver something more along the lines of the late ’80s action movie with superpowers that the classic Jon Ostrander Suicide Squad comics were.
Here’s everything else you need to know about the movie:
Suicide Squad 2 Trailer
It’s not QUITE a trailer, but this sizzle reel that was unveiled at DC Fandome does contain plenty of footage, as well as a look at virtually the entire cast, as well as some behind the scenes action.
Check it out…
Suicide Squad 2 Cast
Previously, it was expected that at the very least, proven box office draws Will Smith and Margot Robbie would return as Deadshot and Harley Quinn, likely with Jared Leto’s controversial Joker in place. But with the studio seemingly trying to distance itself from that version of the Joker, and Will Smith having departed the project due to “scheduling concerns” Robbie is the marquee name this time around.
But she’ll have PLENTY of backup this time around…
Check out the full cast listing in this snazzy video. Yep, the filmmaker is bringing out the big guns.
See for yourself…
However, while Elba was apparently initially on board to replace Smith as Deadshot, it turns out that now he’s playing a different character entirely: the Superman villain Bloodsport, leaving the door open for Smith to potentially return in a future movie.
John Cena will play Peacemaker, a character so important he’s even getting an HBO Max mini-series that Gunn will write and direct.
Daniela Melchor will play a genderswapped version of Batman villain Ratcatcher.
David Dastmalchian will play Polka Dot Man, think of a guy who uses the “polka dot” theme to create weapons. THR says he will “lean into his embarrassment of his ‘lame’ abilities.”
Mayling Ng plays Mongal, the daughter of alien conqueror Mongul.
Saturday Night Live‘s Pete Davidson will be playing Blackguard.
Alice Braga is playing someone called Solsoria.
German comedian Flula Borg is playing Javelin.
Gunn has enlisted another of his Guardians of the Galaxy pals for a role with Michael Rooker playing Savant.
The character of King Shark is (a shaaaaaaark!) a humanoid shark, so expect a fair amount of CGI involved for Steve Agee. The character of King Shark has recently appeared in live action (via considerable CGI) on The Flash TV series.
Nathan Fillion is playing…wait for it…Arm Fall Off Boy.
Suicide Squad 2 Story
Earlier in development, The Wrap reported that Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam may get his introduction in Suicide Squad 2, indicating that the team’s mission this time around will be to secure “a weapon of mass destruction,” and that the weapon of mass destruction in question would be Black Adam himself. That’s from a pre-Gunn version of the project, though, and the movie is now going in a completely different direction.
Instead, expect it to be far more in line with the sensibilities Gunn displayed in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Warner Bros. will follow their own Birds of Prey lead and lean into an R-rating for this violent group of misfits. I’d also be curious to see if the movie takes any inspiration from Gail Simone’s Suicide Squad-adjacent Secret Six title, which featured some slightly less expendable baddies and antiheroes in more ridiculous, humorous, and extreme situations than we usually saw in the Suicide Squad books. The excellent animated movie, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay drew on some of that, and it might be a good starting point for a new film.
Suicide Squad 2 Release Date
The Suicide Squad will open on Aug. 6, 2021. That August release date served both the first film and James Gunn’s first Guardians of the Galaxy effort well, so this might be a safe bet.
The full DC superhero movie release schedule can be found here.
We’ll update this with more information as it becomes available!