There were guesses all year but now we know who plays who in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Gunn prides himself on his taste for the obscure, which is one reason his comic book adaptations are so successful. His Suicide Squad is no different in the first respect.
Official announcements came today at DC FanDome during the interactive panel involving Gunn and his cast. Everyone was outed, and in some cases, we were way off.
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All year, to start, the big question many were trying to figure out is who Idris Elba plays. Predictions ranged from Bronze Tiger to Deathstroke initially. Sportsmaster was a name thrown around too a few times.
Reports and the rumor mill settled on a revamped Vigilante and that was the soundest guess. It endured for months. Elba was reportedly called that on the set to fan the flames and throw people off the trail. And it worked.
Nobody guessed Elba was playing Bloodsport, an obscure sometime antagonist of Superman with a red (occasionally white) mask debuting in Superman vol. 2, #4 in 1987.
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It was confirmed at the panel Elba was playing Robert Dubois the first iteration of the character. African-American and obsessed with the Vietnam War, Dubois snapped and was supplied kryptonite bullets and a teleporter by Lex Luthor.
It was further confirmed during the panel that, in The Suicide Squad, Dubois is in prison for shooting Superman with one of his bullets when Amanda Waller recruits him. No word if Henry Cavill will reprise Big Blue for a flashback or if we’ll see Lex Luthor either.
As far as who we got right, John Cena is Peacemaker in all the glory of his original Charlton design, David Dastmalchian is Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior is Ratcatcher but it’s suggested she is the second to bear the name, Steve Agee is King Shark, Flula Borg is Javelin, Mayling Ng is Mongal, and Sean Gunn plays a mutated Weasel.
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We were off when it came to Blackguard and Savant, initially reporting and holding to the idea Nathan Fillion was the former and Pete Davidson the latter. Both characters are in the film but we got the actors wrong.
Davidson is actually Blackguard despite looking nothing like him while Savant is portrayed by an albino Michael Rooker. Fillion portrays a new character in TDK who might be inspired by Suicide Squad regular Knockout.
Alice Braga’s character is revealed to be named Sul Soria which Variety notes might be a take on Juan Soria, former Squad member, and Justice League wannabe. She’s probably not Poison Ivy or a threat to the team.
Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi is verified for Thinker, not Psimon, but will need those prosthetics. His shaven head is adorned with electrodes. They might come in handy controlling a “Beast” yet to be identified.
The Suicide Squad is ready for theaters Aug. 6th, 2021.