Note: This is a spoiler-free article. Everything you see and read here is in the trailer, or is already public knowledge from official announcements and movies released.
Suicide Squad continues to amp up interest with a third trailer of mischievous tone. Unlike with most trailers now-a-days, the trailers of this major release don’t give much away except for the basic first-act setup and screen-time with most of its major characters. In the second of our Trailer Analysis series, we attempt to find pointers towards the not-so-obvious that was shown in the trailer, and the questions such knowledge raise.
As tradition goes, let’s re-watch the trailer again (and again).
Note: The images below are screen-caps from the trailer. The brightness & contrast have been adjusted to make the details in the image more visible. Some of the images are not in the same sequence as in the trailer, to assist with the commentary.
The trailer begins with a meeting inside the White House discussing a scenario of “What if… Superman had decided to fly down… grab the president…”. Right off the cuff, the movie establishes its existence in the same world as the DCEU movies. Also, note the past tense: “Superman had decided”.
The voice-over continues as we are introduced to some of the Squad members, most visually-striking of whom is Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje under heavy make-up). We get a neat little shot of him blinking… just like a crocodile!
Voice-over continues as we’re shown some of the Squad being prepped for their mission. This includes injecting them with something, but with what? My wager is on an insurance policy in the form of a remotely detonating explosive. Remember: these are bad guys, and completely dispensable.
Montage ends with the scene back at the White House, now with Amanda Waller introducing the idea of a Suicide Squad: “I want to build a team of some very bad people who I think can do some good”. Antihero-vibes! But there are just six people in her recommended team: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Killer Croc, Captain Boomerang, Slipknot and El Diablo. Where are Enchantress and Katana?
Quick shots of the Squad preparing for their mission includes Deadshot’s costume and gun with the words “I am the light, the way”, which seems to suggest a religious/crusader angle. It’s Will Smith after all — they can’t make him all bad now, can they?
This is perhaps the biggest Easter Egg in the trailer: while Harley Quinn dresses in view of the entire army base, there’s something lying by her feet. A zoom-in suggests it to be… her Jester costume! Even if she doesn’t appear dressed in it, that will be a great nod to the fans of Batman TAS and the comics. That costume aside, this image also shows a lot of military personnel — what is this threat that calls for such a huge armed operation?
…and what is Scott Eastwood doing there? He is officially a part of the cast, but his character name hasn’t yet been announced, suggesting it is important but better left hidden. Could he be playing Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke? I can’t think of anyone else important enough to be kept secret that fits his character’s army affiliation.
When they finally leave for the mission, Katana is now shown with the team. But unlike all the ex-prisoners who are sitting to one side, Katana stands free and to the side of the “good guys”. Also, still no sign of Enchantress. Let’s just agree that she isn’t one of the Squad.
There’s a lot of devastation in the city they’re headed to. Across large areas too. Yup, this ain’t a small threat.
A look at the threat: seems to be mutated armed soldiers, or some sort of creature army. One of them is even carrying a STOP sign! More on them later.
This still also confirms the location as Midway City. That’s one of the many fictional cities in the DC universe, like Metropolis and Gotham City. If you are wondering, no major DC hero hails from this Chicago-like midwestern city.
That there, in Capt. Boomerang’s left hand, is a plush toy unicorn (while he slices through one of them creatures). Deadpool would be happy.
This shot is best seen as a moving image in the trailer, in HD and on a large screen. The arrow points to a (supernatural?) being standing there with arms outstretched while a subway train is decimated going through it. Whether that is the main baddie or not, that shot is the littlest bit we see of that… thing.
We finally get a look at Enchantress, as one of the reaction shots to the Joker’s laugh. But you know what’s odd about it? Check the other reaction shots below: El Diablo, Harley Quinn and Deadshot. They all have the same background, while Enchantress seems to be in some room with a bed’s headrest and a lamp behind her. Cheeky editing. Postulate: Enchantress is the main baddie, or the cause of it.
We get a few looks at the Joker, but the most interesting one is of him in a white shirt, at a table. He’s sweet-talking to someone, barely recognizable in the reflection. Any idea who that could be?
Four quick shots featuring the Batman seem to suggest a flashback sequence: Batman pursuing the Joker on the roof of a Lamborghini (Joker and Harley Quinn are in it), the Lamborghini crashing through a barrier seemingly plunging into water, the Bat with an underwater breathing apparatus diving to probably rescue Harley Quinn, and Batman carrying Harley Quinn to the Batmobile.
Finally, a clear look at those creatures the Squad are fighting. Look at that grotesque headful of eyes! They aren’t any well-known comic book villain, so either these are from some obscure comic, or from the mind of director David Ayer.
Lastly, two shots to further affirm the bad-guy status of Enchantress: she’s likely at the White House (That’s the Presidential seal on the wall), reflecting on the first line spoken in the trailer.
And we also see a shot of June Moon in a cave inhaling something dark (an evil entity?), likely to be before turning into the Enchantress.
Three trailers, and there’s still a lot we want to know about the movie. Peaking our curiosity is something Warner Bros. seem to be doing right for once with this DCEU film!
We will likely see one final trailer and a bunch of TV spots before the August release of Suicide Squad. Meanwhile, comic book movie fans have Captain America: Civil War and X-Men: Apocalypse to keep the excitement up!
