Last weekend was like Christmas for DC fans. The great event that was DC Fandome only gave us a small taste of what’s to come in the near future. Out of all the panels, the one that stood out to me the most was The Suicide Squad. The one and only James Gunn got to flex his other guns by bringing on the main cast. They had a fun time and I had a fun time watching them, but the best part of it was without a doubt the teaser trailer. Not only did he show us footage, but he also revealed which character every actor is playing. Now we know Idris Elba will be playing Bloodsport and even Michael Rooker will be playing Savant.
I won’t lie, I wasn’t expecting these characters, but James Gunn has a habit of showing less-popular characters in his movies. He’s confident, Warner Bros. is confident, and that’s enough to make me confident. However, there was a lot to take away from this panel, especially if you’re a comic fan. Well, it turns out I’m a massive DC comic fanatic and I’m itching for this movie. However, watching the panel and the teaser has only made me very curious. Now’s the time for speculation and I’ve made several theories on how this film will turn out. Whether it’s for the film’s plot or how it connects to the bigger DC Cinematic Universe, I’d like to discuss what they are and why we should be excited for them.
I’ll start off with Idris Elba and the character he’ll be playing. Since Will Smith was unable to return to the role of Deadshot due to scheduling conflicts, Gunn brought on Idris Elba. Instead of just replacing Smith, however, Gunn decided to just let Elba play a different character entirely. I’ll just say that I loved Smith as Deadshot and not having Elba replace him opens up the opportunity for him to return for a third movie. I want that, and I think Gunn and Warner Bros. wants that, but it left me wondering what they were going to do with Elba.
For a while, I reckoned that he would be playing Bronze Tiger. It makes sense, given Elba’s physicality, convicting voice, and Tiger’s prominent role in the Squad. However, it turns out Gunn had different plans as he casted him to play the unknown villain called Bloodsport. In typical Gunn fashion, he decided to try something new and make a unpopular character the star of his movie. What does he intend to do with him? Well, I’ve noticed some shockingly similarities between Bloodsport and Deadshot. They both love guns, wear cool masks that they probably don’t wear much, and they both have young daughters. To me, it seems like Gunn was really pulling for Deadshot to be in this movie, but wasn’t willing to recast Will Smith. To compensate for this, he just had Idris Elba play a character that will fit the “Deadshot” role.
Sounds like a lazy move on paper, but including Bloodsport might actually be a clever move. This character isn’t very popular because he’s currently dead in the main DC continuity, but when he was around, he made his mark. His name is Robert DuBois and became unhinged when his brother was killed in Vietnam taking his place when he was drafted. Lex Luthor took an interest in his skill set and instability by hiring him to kill Superman. To ensure his success, Luthor gave him a teleportation belt, allowing him to acquire any weapon of his choice. His most vital weapon was a rifle that shot bullets made from kryptonite. That’s right, he shot Superman. In fact, Gunn even confirmed that his Bloodsport is imprisoned for shooting Superman with a kryptonite bullet. That explains why he’s incarcerated, but this means a lot more.
With Gunn confirming Bloodsport’s crime, he’s basically confirmed that the DCEU is still flowing. On top of that, it proves that Henry Cavill’s Superman still exist. Rumor has it he’s in talks for returning, but probably not for a Man of Steel sequel. Rumor also has it he’ll be kicking off his return with supporting appearances. Is Gunn actually going to show Bloodsport’s assassination attempt on Superman? That would be one awesome cameo. Speaking of kryptonite, let’s not forget the other Superman villain who carries it like trophies. Who hired Bloodsport to assassinate Superman? If Gunn follows the comics, then it’s possible Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor could be returning. I know he wasn’t everyone’s favorite character, but as the big criminal mastermind, his presence in the DCEU is crucial. Like him or hate him, Gunn taking this route means the DCEU isn’t dead.
Superman and Lex Luthor aren’t the only characters I’m thinking about. Remember earlier when I said Gunn revealed which character “every” actor is playing? Well, there’s one particular cast member that was a no-show for the panel. I’m referring to Taika Waititi, who’s role in the movie remains to be unknown. With his acting skills, I can only imagine which character he’d take on. The only reason Gunn wouldn’t reveal his role yet is because he’s secretly playing the villain. If this is true, we now just have to guess which villain. Given Waititi’s work as an actor, I reckon he’ll be playing a villain that’s pretty over-the-top. My first guess would be a villainous role that would require him to do motion-capture and not see his face.
So if he’s playing the secret villain of The Suicide Squad, he’ll most likely play a non-human character. Being the DC fan that I am, I can make a few guesses, but based on the rumors I’m hearing, it seems Gunn already has a villain in mind. After watching some trailer breakdowns on YouTube, I’ve learned that the potential villain of the movie just might be Starro the Conquerer. If you’re a hardcore DC fan like me, you’ll know that he’s the first supervillain the Justice League ever faced. He’s also an intelligent, but hostile alien the resembles a giant starfish. His abilities include generating smaller clones of himself and they work like facehuggers. Instead of impregnating their victims, however, they simply put them under mind control. Starro can generate quite a lot of these, meaning he can have many unwilling slaves under his control.
The Suicide Squad versus Starro and his mind-controlled slaves? Somehow, I knew a South American dictator couldn’t be the only villain. Well, it turns out adding a hostile alien like Starro changes things. Starro’s presence really ups the ante in more ways that you think. I don’t know why Gunn would choose that particular villain, but I’m guessing it’s because he’s an alien. The interesting thing is that Starro isn’t the only alien in the movie. Gunn is also including the supervillain, Mongal, in the film and she’s an alien herself. Based on what I’ve read, she’ll be an ally to the Squad.
In the comics, Mongal is the daughter of the supervillain, Mongul. He’s basically your typical intergalactic despot and runs gladiator-like games on his planet of Warworld. Of course, this has led him into conflict with heroes such as, wait for it… Superman. Wait, so one person in this movie already has a connection to Superman, and now another? Well, if Mongal is being introduced in this movie, it’s highly possible that Mongul’s introduction won’t be too far off. If that’s the case, then the DCEU is possibly considering expanding its boundaries to the more intergalactic territories. DC really thrives in their sic-fi aspect and I’m itching to see more of that. Adding on more aliens and hinting at new ones only opens that door and expands this universe.
With Mongal assisting the Squad, she could be very familiar with the threat of Starro and prove to be a valuable ally. Since this is a Suicide Squad movie, her chances of survival are also very thin. If she dies, her dear daddy probably won’t take it too well and have an desire to avenge her. He’s also a supervillain, so he’ll blame the wrong people, meaning he’ll be gunning for the people of Earth. This can lead to his epic interaction with Superman. Like I said, DC thrives in the realm of science fiction.
Anyone else pumped for The Suicide Squad? If you think the Squad fighting a giant starfish doesn’t sound cool, you don’t know comics, or James Gunn, for that matter. Man, I just want to fast forward to 2021.
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