Having worked together on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, director James Gunn and action legend Sylvester Stallone reunite this year for the R-rated DC supervillain team-up The Suicide Squad as Sly sinks his teeth into the anthropomorphic Great White, King Shark.
Based on the promotional material along, King Shark has already established himself as a standout and a firm fan favourite, and speaking to Den of Geek, Gunn has discussed why he wanted to include the character and revealed that he wrote the part specifically for Stallone.
“Who doesn’t want to see a fish eat a lot of people that somehow people think is inexplicably cute?” said Gunn. “I knew that I wanted to use an animal, and I knew that King Shark was a member of the Squad in the newer comics. I liked the concept of that character. So King Shark [was my first addition].”
SEE ALSO: James Gunn says The Suicide Squad villain Starro is “hilarious, ridiculous, and f*cking terrifying”
“Strangely, as I’ve become more able to get whatever actor I want for roles in movies, I started taking risks and writing for actors that I don’t know,” Gunn says. “So for instance, I wrote Bloodsport for Idris Elba, having never met him, but being a big fan of his work in other places. And I knew Sly, and I know him pretty well. So I wrote the role of King Shark with his voice in mind.”
Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.
The Suicide Squad sees James Gunn directing a cast that includes Suicide Squad returnees Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag) and Viola Davis (Amanda Waller) as well as new DCEU additions Idris Elba, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, Nathan Fillion, Taika Waititi, Jennifer Holland, David Dastmalchian, Joaquín Cosío, Mayling Ng, Flula Borg, Juan Diego Botto, Storm Reid, John Cena, Pete Davidson, Tinashe Kajese, Daniela Melchior, Julio Ruiz, Steve Agee, Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn, and Sylvester Stallone.
