Last week, Warner Bros. announced the star-studded cast for its second DC movie of 2016, Suicide Squad, with the DC supervillain ensemble set to feature Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) as Rick Flagg, Will Smith (Hancock) as Deadshot, Cara Delevingne (Pan) as Enchantress, Jai Courtney (Terminator: Genisys) as Boomerang, Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street) as Harley Quinn and Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club). During a chat with Comic Book Resources, Suicide Squad creator John Ostrander has shared his thoughts on the casting, and the movie in general…
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“I wouldn’t have guessed that it would have been one of the properties that they would do quite so quickly”, states Ostrander. “That’s a heck of a slot. It’s the first movie after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That places them pretty high and sure, that pleases me… It sounds like they are going with my original concept, which is that these are bad guys, and in order to earn their freedom, they have to go on missions, in which they could be killed. I’ve even read that they are talking about that as the film, as well. Which I think is a good one.”
Ostrander turned his attention to Will Smith as Deadshot, stating that: “I definitely see it. The thing you have to consider is that movies are different and separate entities from comics. They have different needs, and they have to find ways to get a lot of people into seats. To the general public, Deadshot as a character is not well known, so they wouldn’t really notice any difference. Of course, the people doing the movies want to have the biggest star that they can, because that will help draw people into the movie. Understanding all of that, I have no problem with the casting.”
He then went on to discuss Tom Hardy as Rick Flag and Jared Leto as The Joker: ” think that’s a very interesting choice. Again, Tom Hardy is a very versatile actor. What I am really impressed by with all of the casting is that they are getting some very good actors to play these parts. That means Warner Bros. is very serious about this movie. They are serious about the concept. I think Hardy is an excellent actor. Jared Leto as The Joker? Oh, my. This is his first film since winning an Academy Award! That’s pretty high profile for a film called Suicide Squad. They are taking this very seriously.”
Ostrander also commented on the reported shortlist for the role of Amanda Waller: “What’s really interesting to me is that all three of the women that they were talking about, Oprah Winfrey, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, were at the top of my list. Actually, I was just talking to my fiancé Mary Mitchell the other day, just before this was announced, and those were the three names that came to me off the top of my head. Oprah was actually at the top of my list! She showed in The Color Purple that she’s a really good actor, and she’s got the attitude for Waller. And they’re all of the same general build, which I made for Waller. I like that, as well. I think Queen Latifah would be a good fit, too. She almost did Waller when she did Chicago. She certainly has the attitude.”
And finally, he was asked whether he felt there were any characters absent from the film’s line-up, responding that: “I think Bronze Tiger would have been interesting. I think they needed a few more characters that aren’t villains, because that’s what we did originally, in order to make it work. I think Night Shade could work either way as a hero or a villain. She has a very useful power. But again, it’s a very interesting choice in having The Joker for the Squad. It will be interesting to see how they make that work. And if they use Lex Luthor [Jesse Eisenberg], as they are evidently in negotiations to do, that would also be an interesting story element.”
Suicide Squad is set for release on August 5th 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszH_jfuJoo8HCG1-lGjvfH2F&feature=player_embedded&v=UjZ2TF1kEjE
Originally published December 8, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
