Another name has been added to the star-studded cast of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and it’s one familiar to sharp-eyed superhero movie buffs. David Dastmalchian landed the obscure role of Polka-Dot Man, confirming reports for months the character would be in the film.
The Hollywood Reporter nabbed the exclusive and spread the news on Monday. Dastmalchian joins Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, Jai Courtney, and other returning faces Viola Davis and Joel Kinnaman. John Cena may even step in the ring too as we’ve been saying.
Regular viewers of CBS in prime time will recognize Dastmalchian from the MacGyver reboot where he guest stars as the sadistic operative Murdoc, a frequent thorn in the side of one Angus MacGyver — his Joker if you will, which Dastmalchian would know something about.
Appearing on Gotham as Dwight Pollard, he had a quite notable cameo in the world of Batman a decade before as Thomas Schiff in The Dark Knight. Schiff was the “paranoid schizophrenic” Arkham escapee Joker dressed as a cop in the parade scene where the villain tried to kill James Gordon. Harvey Dent later interrogates Schiff before being stopped by Batman.
Dastmalchian isn’t solely a DC guy by any means, he has had a recurring part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ant–Man films. He plays Kurt, one of Scott Lang’s associates. He also frequently works with Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve and will be in his Dune remake.
Polka-Dot Man is lesser known but that is James Gunn’s specialty. Created by late artists Sheldon “Shelly” Moldoff (known for his work on Hawkman and Hawkgirl) and Charles Paris (inker for Batman under Bob Kane and the early Detective Comics), Polka-Dot Man’s origins go back to the swinging sixties and their corniness. He first appeared in Detective Comics #300 (1962) and clashed with Batman and Robin on and off throughout the years.
His real name is Abner Krill and his abilities center around the trademark spots on his costume which he can use as weapons or portals to an unseen armory. Krill could even turn them into UFOs when the time called for it. Leaked character details indicate a lean into his lameness as a bad guy befitting the campy roots.
Dastmalchian’s penchant for small roles leads us to believe Polka-Dot Man will be a throwaway character as usual and suffer the same fate as Slipknot in the last installment.
Director James Gunn hints strongly at this prediction in his latest Instagram post sharing a picture of his collection of John Ostrander’s Suicide Squad series. In the caption, he calls the villains “disposable” and “forgotten.”
What do you make of Dastmalchian joining The Suicide Squad as Polka-Dot Man?