Last week, we learned that former Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn was officially in talks to helm The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros. after already being tapped to pen the script. Furthermore, it was revealed that the film would be less of a sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad and more of a soft reboot with “a mostly all-new cast of characters and actors.”
That being said, we here at Epicstream decided to compile a list of our picks for which faces – old and new – we’d like to see in the film, which is slated for an August 6, 2021 release date. So, without further ado, here are eight characters that should appear in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad:
Deadshot
Starting with the returning faces, it makes total sense for Will Smith to reprise his role as Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot. Not only is the character a longstanding staple of the comic book incarnation of Task Force X but Smith is a guaranteed moneymaker. The only problem is that the actor’s schedule is jam-packed as it is, so securing someone of his caliber now that the film has a confirmed release date could prove difficult. Then again, perhaps the release date was set with Smith’s other commitments already in mind.
Rick Flag
Another character that should return for The Suicide Squad is Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag. He was present when the team first debuted during the Silver Age of comics, and Task Force X needs a strong leader who’s capable of walking both the straight and narrow and walking on the wild side. And even if Kinnaman doesn’t return, it isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker. While he was great in Suicide Squad, Kinnaman isn’t a name fans would likely lose their minds over if he had to be recast.
Amanda Waller
Suicide Squad proved, if nothing else, that Viola Davis is the perfect Amanda Waller. Bringing her back is a no-brainer. Plus, without Waller, there wouldn’t be a Suicide Squad, so her inclusion in Gunn’s film is absolutely essential.
Captain Boomerang
Much like Deadshot, one doesn’t think of Task Force X without thinking of George “Digger” Harkness, aka Captain Boomerang. Jai Courtney truly brought that character to life in 2016, and he delivered some much-needed comic relief. Let’s just hope that if he does return for The Suicide Squad, we actually get to see him put his boomerangs to use.
King Shark
Suicide Squad director David Ayer revealed on Twitter that he nearly included longtime Task Force X member King Shark in his 2016 film. However, the character’s inclusion would have meant heavy use of CGI, so he opted for Killer Croc instead so he could rely more on practical effects. Considering the film won an Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, this was clearly the right move, but for the sake of shaking things up in The Suicide Squad, why not go the King Shark route? After all, given Gunn’s tenure on the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, it’s clear he has a keen eye when it comes to CGI.
Bronze Tiger
Every good incarnation of Task Force X needs an equally good hand-to-hand combatant. In the 2016 film, we had Katana, but in The Suicide Squad, it’d be interesting to see Ben Turner, aka Bronze Tiger, brought into the fold. Just like Deadshot and Captain Boomerang, he has a long history with the team, and his stint on Arrow (as portrayed by actor Michael Jai White) adds some name recognition for those who might not be familiar with the comic book source material.
Punch & Jewelee
It seems all but certain that Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn is destined for bigger things than The Suicide Squad, as Warner Bros. appears to be putting plenty of its eggs into the HQ basket. Thankfully, though, DC has a perfectly suitable Harley Quinn stand-in in its arsenal of characters, and she even comes with her own Joker! Punch and Jewelee are, for all intents and purposes, Joker and Harley-lite, so bringing them onboard for The Suicide Squad would help fill the void left by Robbie and (presumably) Jared Leto.
Poison Ivy
Speaking of Harley, with Gotham City Sirens pushed to the side in favor of Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), that leaves the fan-favorite Batman villain Poison Ivy up for grabs. She has a history with the Suicide Squad, and should Warner Bros. choose to purse Gotham City Sirens in the future as part of a purported Harley Quinn trilogy, she’ll already be an established character in the DC Extended Universe.