People may still be debating the fate of the DC Extended Universe in a post-Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice world, and paying close attention to any behind-the-scenes Justice League drama, but that hasn’t stopped the hype train for the next DC cinematic property, David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. The film is still high on our team’s most-anticipated list, and now that the summer movie season is upon us, it’s time for the members of the Squad to begin their marketing push.
The latest big of information comes from Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who is playing classic Batman foe Killer Croc. In a new interview with ComingSoon, Akinnuoye-Agbaje revealed what he did to prepare for the role, how established the character is in the larger DC Extended Universe, and teased that there will be several underwater sequences in the film.
As we’ve seen in the trailers, Croc – like the rest of the Squad – is recruited out of prison, having already been defeated and captured (presumably by Ben Affleck’s Batman). According to Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Croc is locked up in Arkham Asylum, not Belle Reve, and is a “fully-fledged criminal” when we meet him:
“At the time you meet him in this film, he’s a fully-fledged criminal. He’s really one of the baddest criminals known to be roaming in Gotham, hence his lockup in Arkham. He’s tangled with the Batman and here he is amongst these other foes. He’s very much a formidable force at the time that you meet him.”
As far as how he prepared for playing the man-eating crocodile, Akinnuoye-Agbaje looked at (what else) cannibals and actual crocodiles.
“I looked at all of it. I went back to the young Waylon Jones. The [Batman] animated series. I had my own take, too. I researched cannibalism. I actually went out and watched real crocodiles, too. We incorporated some of the real life fight techniques that crocodiles do when they kill their prey. The death roll.”
To actually play the role, Akinnuoye-Agbaje endured five hours of sitting in a makeup chair to achieve the character’s realistic look through good ol’ movie magic and prosthetics, rather than resorting to CGI.
“The head and shoulders are prosthetic that were glued onto my face and then the body down was painted. It took about five hours to do, but it was something that was a challenge that I was up for because I wanted to set a new standard for what can be done with prosthetics. We could have easily CGI’d this, but David [Ayer] was insistent on their being an actor to bring out the soul of the character. It gave me an opportunity to show what I could do with prosthetics.”
It’s great to see a big budget comic book film like this resort to practical effects rather than CGI, and the effect looks very cool in the trailers. One thing we have not seen in the marketing yet is what Croc will be up to during the Squad’s mission. According to Akinnuoye-Agbaje, some underwater sequences are in store:
“Oh, you’re going to get more than one water scene! I’m a croc, after all, man. That’s my territory!”
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?
SEE ALSO: Follow all of our DC Extended Universe coverage here
Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5th 2016 and 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 Flagg, Viola Davis (The Help) as Amanda Waller, Cara Delevingne (Paper Towns) as Enchantress, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Thor: The Dark World) as Killer Croc, Ray Olubowale (Resident Evil: Afterlife) as King Shark, 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, and Ike Barinholtz (The Mindy Project) and Scott Eastwood (The Longest Ride) in as-yet-unconfirmed roles.
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Originally published May 3, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
