It’s a very, very busy day in the Suicide Squad camp (when is it not?), with a series of set reports finding their way online ahead of the movie’s theatrical release in early August.
Those who have been keeping pace with Warner Bros.’ huge marketing push for the David Ayer thriller will know fine well that we’ve already been treated to a multitude of TV spots, clips and eye-popping images. But today, those set reports double down on the gleefully evil characters at the heart of Suicide Squad, with /Film profiling each member of Task Force X.
Beyond that, Collider quizzed Ayer about the involvement of a certain Caped Crusader. Yes, those Toronto set photos may have spoiled the surprise cameo of Ben Affleck’s Batman, but here, the filmmaker assures fans that there’s still plenty of surprises in store – which also allowed Ayer to present the World’s Greatest Detective in a slightly different light.
āAll the Batman movies have been from Batmanās point of view. Heās the good guy. Heās the hero of his own movie in all the movies weāve seen. If you look at what Bruce Wayne has done in creating the Batman persona, his idea was to terrorize criminals. Itās sort of psychological warfare against criminals. This wraith that comes in the night and attacks and pulls criminals from society. For the first time, weāre seeing Batman from the point of view of the criminals and heās freaking scary.ā
When it comes to those bios, El Diablo and Slipknot are pitched as The Firepower and The Mystery, respectively, though precious few details were shared about each member at this time. For now, check out what David Ayer had to say about his roster of anti-heroes. Producers Karen Fukuhara,Ā Andy Horowitz andĀ Richard Suckle also weigh in with their two cents.
Amanda Waller:Ā
“As bad as she may be, and I say the word bad because sheās forcing people against their will, she also has a very distinct point of view and sheās doing it for what, in her mind, is the right reason. [ā¦] You donāt fuck with her because the consequences are worse than what she was asking you to do. Thatās really the best thing I can say.”
Rick Flag:
“[Flag] works for Amanda Waller, which means he has to do whatever Amanda Waller says. Not necessarily an A-level assignment on the surface, but heās playing the parent to the class of clowns and the unruly kids, and Joel plays it beautifully. [ā¦] He has to be able to manage all those relationships and personalities, and their energies and attitudes in a way that ultimately will get the job done, which makes his job very difficult.”
Katana:Ā
“[Katana is] not into fighting for herself, thatās the giri-ninjo part. Itās for someone else. And when someone doesnāt care about her own well-being, to kill someone else and to protect someone, that makes her the scariest one. Try fighting someone that doesnāt care about what the outcome is for them, you know? Youāre going against someone whoās going to give it their all no matter how many times you shoot at them. Thatās why sheās so badass.”
Deadshot:Ā
“Heās a bad guy. They are all bad guys. Thatās the beauty of this. Thatās the fun of the genre. I think Will is incredibly versatile and can handle any kind of role you throw at him.”
Boomerang:
āIt is a lot of fun to see Boomerang, who is sort of the most villainous of all these characters,ā teased Ayer. āThis has been a blast creating this absolutely out-of-control, force-of-nature with Jai. In character paradigms, heās evil-chaotic.ā
Killer Croc:
Thereās some beautiful moments in the movie: tender moments, and unpredictable moments, and gentle moments, humorous moments. And those are all whispers of who he was as Waylon Jones. But certainly the pain and the loneliness, you can see it in his eyes. Thereās decisions that he has to make along the journey whether heās going to continue that solo, lonesome thing, or is he going to find a family? Itās a big moment for him.
Enchantress:Ā
At the end of the day sheās a witch, and I think, what would a contemporary modern-day witch look like? And so, for us I think trying to take her old look, which of course is closer to right here, and contemporize it and make it a little bit darker and a little more witchlike, I think, a little more grounded, a little more Goth. So this is what we came up with.
Harley Quinn:
Sheās freaking cool. She represents so many dichotomies in todayās world where everything is so sensitive and you canāt talk about anything or represent anything and you canāt do anything. She doesnāt care. She transcends everything. Thatās what is so fascinating about her. Sheās so many things, and such a powerful woman who is living life on her own terms and so honestly in the moment. And, a person who has an incredible joy in the moment. Itās great to be able to work with that character. Margot is kicking her out of the park.
The Joker:
Heās a business man. Heās crazy of course, and he kills people, but heās super right. Heās running a business. If you could imagine the head of any successful corporation, he runs his business that way. He just happens to be a psychopath. Heās very, very conscientious of his business and heās also very conscientious of the way he dresses. Style is a really big part of this Joker. It would be important to him to know what next yearās Prada would be like because he may want to have it a year before everybody else. He sets trends and thatās a really cool character and I really think you havenāt seen the version of this Joker ever before, and of course there have been great people and great versions of the character.
Suicide Squad storms theaters on August 5. Are you ready to indulge in David Ayer’s ensemble flick? Let us know by commenting below.