We know that 2016’s DC supervillain team-up Suicide Squad went through a number of changes in post-production thanks to Warner Bros.’ reshoots, but it seems that the story also went through some enforced modifications during the development stage, with director David Ayer revealing that Justice League villain Steppenwolf was originally set to be the movie’s big bad.
Posting on Twitter, Ayer confirmed that the original plan for the movie was to have Cara Delevingne’s Enchantress under the spell of Steppenwolf, who was preparing for an invasion of Earth and would have squared off against Task Force X as the “boss fight” of the final act.
This is right. Enchantress was under the control of a mother box and Steppenwolfe was prepping an invasion with a boom tube. Had to lose that then the JL story arcs evolved. https://t.co/pSAag9rpZq
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) November 25, 2018
Exactly — Steppenwolf was the original boss fight. https://t.co/p3lgrU77LB
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) November 25, 2018
Based on Ayer’s comments, it seems safe to assume that had things played out as originally intended, Task Force X would have defeated Steppenwolf at the end of Suicide Squad, with Darkseid then deciding to take matters into his own hands and coming to Earth in Justice League. However, Ayer and company were forced to change their plans when Zack Snyder opted to go for Steppenwolf in Justice League, leading instead to the inclusion of the Enchantress’ brother Incubus as Suicide Squad’s “final boss”.
Steppenwolf appearing in Suicide Squad would definitely have provided a nice through line in terms of the DCEU’s wider narrative, although surely Darkseid’s General would have proven too much of a threat for Task Force X to handle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
SEE ALSO: Zack Snyder teases Darkseid with new Justice League image
It feels good to be bad…Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?
Suicide Squad sees David Ayer (Fury) directing a cast that includes Will Smith (Focus) as Deadshot, Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) as The Joker, Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street) as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney (Terminator Genisys) as Captain Boomerang, Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop) as Rick Flag, Viola Davis (The Help) as Amanda Waller, Cara Delevingne (Paper Towns) as Enchantress, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Thor: The Dark World) as Killer Croc, Jay Hernandez (Hostel) as El Diablo, Adam Beach (Flags of Our Fathers) as Slipknot, Jim Parrack (Fury) as Johnny Frost, Ben Affleck (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) as Batman, newcomer Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Common (Selma) as Monster T, Ike Barinholtz (The Mindy Project) as Captain Griggs and Scott Eastwood (The Longest Ride) as Lieutenant ‘GQ’ Edwards.
