James Gunn Explains THE SUICIDE SQUAD Doesn't Contradict David Ayer's Movie

When James Gunn jumped into the DC universe to direct The Suicide Squad, he came in to do his own thing and Warner Bros. gave him complete creative freedom to do what he wanted with the film. The movie is going to be its own standalone film, but Gunn chose to bring back several of the cast members of the original film including Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg.

In a recent interview with Total Film, Gunn opened up about David Ayer’s Suicide Squad and its connection to his film, he also praised the first film's casting choices.

"There’s nothing really in there that contradicts David’s [Ayer] movie. I think the original film did some amazing casting on those characters, in particular the ones I used... I changed what I wanted to and kind of didn’t fix what wasn’t broken."

Kinnaman recently praised the film after he saw it saying that it’s “insane” and said that it’s “by far James Gunn’s best movie.” He went on to say:

“It just takes it to another level. It’s an insane film. At the same time, it was very much the movie that I thought it was going to be because the vision was so clear from the beginning. While we were shooting it, it was so clear what we were doing. It’s so entertaining. I’m of course hopelessly biased, but I found it to be one of the most entertaining films I’ve ever seen. From A to Z, it’s so well paced, it has such a drive and such comedic timing. It’s funny along the way the whole time, effortlessly. But then I think what really surprised me was I was struck by was how well it flowed, but also how he was able to create these little bubbles, these little moments of emotional depth and visual and emotional poetry. And I felt like it really transcended the genre, and it became something bigger. And then it’s also very silly, and ridiculous in many ways and super violent. Just gory almost at times. And it has shocking moments, but they are very comedic. At the end of the movie, it’s completely normal seeing this giant shark just standing gnawing on a person’s head, and some of the people just having a conversation next to it… When you’re one hour and 50 minutes into ‘Suicide Squad,’ that’s going to feel completely normal. It’s so irreverent.”

When talking about how it compares to Ayer’s film, Kinnaman said:

“I thought the first 40 minutes of the film was fucking great, and then there were conflicting visions and it just didn’t end up being what we all hoped it was. It didn’t feel like the movie that we hoped we were going to make, and this is something very different. …It’s just a different universe. It’s a James Gunn universe. It’s a very hilarious and depraved place.”

The Suicide Squad also stars David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Steve Agee as King Shark, and Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher, Michael Rooker as Savant, Flula Borg as Javelin, Nathan Fillion is T.D.K., Mayling Ng as Mongal, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, Alice Braga as Sol Soria, Sylvester Stallone providing the voice of King Shark, Joaquín Cosío is Mayor General Mateo Suarez, Pete Davidson is Blackguard, Sean Gunn is Weasel, Jennifer Holland is Emilia Harcourt, and Storm Reid is Bloodsport's daughter, Tyla. Taika Waititi will also be in the film.

Here’s the synopsis for the film:

Welcome to hell — a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.

Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and- destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.

The film has previously been described as a 1970s-style war movie. It has also been said that the Suicide Squad team will be heading on a mission to Corto Maltese so that they can recover something from a former German prison and laboratory. Producer Peter Safran previously explained:

"There they have to destroy a Nazi-era prison and laboratory named Jotunheim, where political prisoners were held and experimentations took place."

The Suicide Squad is set for release on August 6, 2021.