James Gunn's Character Roster For THE SUICIDE SQUAD Has Been Revealed
Ever since it was announced that James Gunn would be writing and directing The Suicide Squad, fans have wondered what his character line-up would look like. After all, it was reported that his “focus is to take the franchise in a new direction with a mostly all-new cast of characters and actors.”
We know that Idris Elba will replace Will Smith as Deadshot, and Margot Robbie will return as Harley Quinn, but now we know who some of the other character might be thanks to Collider. Here’s the list they provided:
Ratcatcher a.k.a Otis Flannegan, who is a male in the DC universe, will be gender-swapped and played by a woman in The Suicide Squad. “Ratcatcher is is a super-criminal and one of Batman’s many enemies. She started out as an exterminator in Gotham City before turning to a life of crime, aided by an army of small rodents she can communicate with and control. She’s also a fan of poisonous gas.”
Nanaue a.k.a. King Shark, “is a super-villain and humanoid shark whose father is believed to be the so-called Shark God, though others dismiss him as merely a savage mutation.”
Polka-Dot Man a.k.a. Mister Polka Dot, “is a Gotham City super-villain and like Ratcatcher, a sworn enemy of Batman. He grows multi-colored polka dots on his body that he can turn into fireballs and other weapons, even though, for the most part, he’s embarrassed about his awkward abilities.”
Peacemaker a.k.a. Christopher Smith, “is an agent of peace whose motives are driven by an extremist form of pacifism that makes him love peace so much he would kill for it.”
That’s a solid and very interesting character roster. I can see why Gunn would like to play with these characters! While I would have loved to see Dave Bautista take on the role of King Shark, sources say that Gunn is looking for him to take on the role of Pacemaker, which is another great role that I could see him having a lot of fun with.
The site also reports that sources say that Gunn’s Suicide Squad script has Deadshot acting as “a surrogate father of sorts to Ratcatcher, though the role remains open to actresses of all nationalities and ethnicities.”
As for Harley Quinn’s role in the story, apparently she will only appear in the film in a limited capacity. Joel Kinnaman’s character Rick Flagg could also return to the franchise, but that isn’t set in stone yet. And in case you were wondering about Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, there’s no word on if she will return or not.
Warner Bros. will release The Suicide Squad on August 6th, 2021.