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Frankly, I find the fact that Warner Bros. is choosing to put out another Suicide Squad-based movie just five years after the original 2016 disaster — which essentially marked the beginning of the end of the original DCEU — to be insane.
Sure, now they’ve got the James Gunn — Guardians of the Galaxy remains one of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — at the helm and have swapped out Will Smith for Idris Elba, but still, the scars of 2016 remain too fresh. Suicide Squad was downright awful, and unless they can pull off some truly incredible marketing, I have a hard time believing that fans are going to forget the awful taste that Jared Leto’s Joker left and flock to the theater to see The Suicide Squad.
Whatever. Their wallets, not mine. Plus, truth be told, considering that Warner Bros. has seemed to learn their lesson — Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Shazam!, and Bird of Prey have all fallen somewhere between acceptable and above average — and Gunn has the unique proven talent of being able to turn a rag-tag group of B-list heroes into a successful franchise, The Suicide Squad will likely end up being solid. Oh, and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is literally never, ever, ever a bad thing.
Now, as for Elba — who the hell is he playing? While he was previously cast to take over the role of Floyd Lawton / Deadshot, Warner Bros. and James Gunn ultimately decided to make him a new character in order to leave the door open for Will Smith’s return.
HOWEVA, ol’ Slick Idris is certainly looking very Deadshot-like in these behind-the-scenes set photos, which leads me to hypothesize that he’s playing a very similar yet equally badass assassin: Deathstroke, a.k.a Slade Wilson (plus, if you squint, you can kinda sorta see on orange tinge to his costume on his right shoulder).
Margot Robbie, Daniela Melchior, Idris Elba, and David Dastmalchain on the set of 'The Suicide Squad'. pic.twitter.com/wIO9hf8H9a
— DCEU Updates (@DCEU_Updates) February 20, 2020
DC Comics
While Joe Manganiello previously appeared as the character in a Justice League post-credit scene, I have a feeling that Warner Bros. is just going to assume that fans have already forgotten — whether it be purposeful or otherwise — that quick cameo.
The Suicide Squad is set to hit theaters in the United States on Friday, August 6, 2021.
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Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t quite sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Follow him on Twitter @eric_ital for movie and soccer takes or contact him eric@brobible.com