**This article was updated to reflect casting changes and Jared Leto's Joker image**
The Suicide Squad? Who? The best way to find out is to watch the excellent WB animated release: Batman: Assault on Arkham. The 75-minute straight-to-video cartoon (rated PG-13) from earlier this year is an excellent introduction to the concept of the Suicide Squad and introducing many of the minor DC characters that take on a big role in the movie universe come 2016 summer. It also has an excellent depiction of the Joker and Harley Quinn’s troubled relationship with him.
Back to the movie, here’s what the WB announcement covered:
- The movie will be called “Suicide Squad”, plain and simple.
- Written and directed by David Ayer, who recently made Brad Pitt starrer Fury and a few gritty hard-hitting films before that. He also wrote Training Day.
- Casting: Will Smith as Deadshot; Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn; Jared Leto as the Joker; Jai Courtney as Boomerang; Cara Delevingne as Enchantress. Joel Kinnaman replaced the previously announced Tom Hardy as Rick Flagg;
- Release Date: August 5, 2016
What we’re mainly left with is casting announcement for the character of Dr. Amanda Waller, the woman who runs the Suicide Squad. In the comics and the animated movie, she’s a heavy, middle-aged black woman who works for the US Government that runs the squad as an off-the-books hit-squad for missions deemed too unethical for the US to be officially involved in. Recruiting super-villain convicts allows the Government to wash its hands off the mission, not care about the expendable assets and gives the convicts a shot at reduced sentences/early release — if they are successful and survive the mission. From the impression Dr. Waller makes in the books/animations, Queen Latifah could be an excellent choice for the role though it is rumoured that Oprah Winfrey (!) is a front-runner.
The official casting announcement brings in a lot of excitement for this movie and the DC Universe as a whole. The fact that Will Smith and Tom Hardy are in the movie is a big deal — especially since Will Smith hasn’t headlined a major movie for a few years now. He is still a big star, a big draw at the cinemas and an immediate rise in a movie’s stock due to his association (when it’s not a movie for his son). Couple that with one of the most magnetic actors of this time, Tom Hardy. Both are likely to play Alpha-Male type characters who clash on ideologies (expect Smith to be the one with clearer morals). Yet, it can’t be denied that watching both on-screen together will be something. Joel Kinnaman replacing tom Hardy as Rick Flagg is a bummer, but he was reportedly quite good in the Robocop remake.
Jared Leto as the Joker is a big deal. The actor will put in the effort, if we know anything from his past performances. and if he gets right, Joker is going to be featured in many more DC Movies to come, especially Justice League 1 & 2 and the eventual stand-alone Batman film. The character is a huge canon in DC’s arsenal that was left inert with Heath Ledger’s fantastic performance and untimely death. Getting the casting right is a major step in pulling out the canon.
Even with all the movies announced until 2020, the cast for Justice League, etc. DC/WB hadn’t really scored a news-win (the way Marvel/Disney) does until this announcement earlier today. Major win for fans everywhere! Now, start hoping…
Here’s a clip from Batman: Assault on Arkham showing Harley Quinn encountering Mr. J.
