While we impatiently wait for the next trailer for David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, this week we got a huge batch of photos, plot details and new information, on the characters in the film. It’s all courtesy of Empire Magazine, who scored big by getting exclusive character details from the actors, details from the director, as well as an extremely intriguing cover image for the magazine.
Let’s dive into all of the madness starting with director David Ayers. Speaking with Empire, Ayers gave up some details regarding the character of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and her arc in the film. The biggest take away is that it sounds as if we’re going to get a love triangle between Harley, the Joker (Jared Leto)…and Deadshot (Will Smith).
“It’s about her breaking free of The Joker and becoming this fully actualized, independent person. That really is a metaphor for everyone’s journey here. Harley is the biggest troublemaker, but Deadshot’s actually eyeballing her a little bit. There’s a pretty ragged romantic triangle there.”
A love triangle? While at first glance, this might sound like a completely random and unwanted idea with no precedence in the comics, but the New 52 Universe and the Batman: Assault on Arkham movie, have actually explored the romantic chemistry between the two characters. And when you’ve got Smith and Robbie on screen again for another film, their first being Focus, it’s not completely unreasonable to want to take advantage of it. However, it is a bit of a tired plot device and it all depends on how well it’s going to be executed.
It’s easy to imagine that this little spark between Deadshot and Harley will not go over well with the Clown Prince of Crime. Ayers also spoke on that triangle and the character’s arc in the film.
“Harley is the biggest troublemaker, but Deadshot’s actually eyeballing her a little bit. There’s a pretty ragged romantic triangle there. As the movie opens, he has a really big career score. He’s looking to turn over a new leaf with his daughter after the hit, but it goes wrong. It goes terribly, terribly wrong. And it lands him in Belle Reve for life.”
With that description, it sounds as if the film is going to stay true to at least some of the rumors and set pictures that surfaced online earlier in the year. Fingers crossed that this love triangle will be nothing like what the worst of the CW shows have to offer.
Meanwhile, How To Get Away With Murder actress and Emmy winner Viola Davis gave up some interesting details on her character, Amanda Waller. From what she says, it’s possible to imagine that “The Wall” might be the true villain of the film. Alluding to the idea that Waller may be somewhat of a sociopath in the movie, Davis describes her character as “relentless.”
“When you look at her, there’s nothing that seems dangerous. Her only power is her intelligence and her complete lack of guilt. I read a great book called Confessions of a Sociopath, which was frightening but very helpful…”
That paints a very vivid picture of what we can expect from her portrayal in the movie. Even Ayer’s himself describes Waller as ruthless and evil by saying, “Bad versus evil is a lot more interesting. And Amanda Waller is the worst there is.” There’s no doubt that Viola Davis has the acting prowess to convey that type of villainy, so this is definitely something to look forward to.
In addition to that, the other actors in the film got to provide some brief descriptions of their respective characters.
Katana (Karen Fukuhara):
“She has morals and codes. She’s can also slice through hundreds of people without taking a breath.”
Boomerang (Jai Courtney):
“He’s an absolute bogan, in the purest sense. Dave’s first instruction was, ‘Find your inner sh**bag.'”
Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje):
“He’s a cannibal with rage issues. Although he only eats the most talented people. He’s picky.”
Slipknot (Adam Beach):
“He’s formidable. He can climb anything. And he hangs people for a living. I joke that he was caught strangling Wonder Woman. I downloaded this app called Grog Knots. Now I could tie up a horse.”
Diablo (Jay Hernandez):
“Most of these guys are happy to get out there and kill people, but he just wants to stay out of the fight.”
Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman):
“Flag is the highest level operator working for the government. He’s had lots of friends die and has killed many, many people. Deadshot gives him the most problems. Harley is easily distracted, but up for following orders if it means destroying things…”
The Joker (Jared Leto)
The character descriptions, as short as they are, offer up a better sense of where everyone will fit into the story, with Adam Beach’s comments being the most confusing, yet amusing. But the best has been saved for last. Jared Leto talked about how he approached the role of the Joker and it’s all nothing short of fascinating
“There was definitely a period of…detachment. I took a pretty deep dive. But this was a unique opportunity and I couldn’t imagine doing it another way. It was fun, playing those psychological games. But at the same time it was very painful, like giving birth out of my prick hole. I always get the sense that The Joker may be much older than people think. It’s something different. If you don’t break rules, you’re not going to strike new ground. I think I’ll be cooling down for the rest of my life.”
After Heath Ledger’s now legendary performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight, it’s only appropriate and necessary, that the next portrayal of the famous DC Comics’ villain be completely different. Even his choice of attire will be totally unique, being inspired by Mexican cartels, according to the film’s producer Charles Roven, who also produced Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. He describes Leto’s Joker as “more social…a very successful and smart businessman besides being a sociopath.”
This could very well explain that bright purple sports car the Joker has in the film. Creating new lanes for the character to go down is a smart move and makes him more unpredictable, and if Leto’s performance is anything like what Ayers has said about it, this should be another memorable movie villain. Ayers says:
“The Joker is the third rail of comic book movies. There’s a power to that character, and by some freaking miracle, through the incredible things Jared has done and the photography and all the other millions of things that went into it, we’ve cooked up something transcendent. He’s scary.”
It seems that the team are very confident in what they have created. They clearly aren’t taking the responibility of creating the next incarnation of the Clown Prince of Crime lightly. There will be much more to come on the Suicide Squad.
A secret government agency run by Amanda Waller, named A.R.G.U.S creates a task force comprised of super villains, the “Suicide Squad”. They are assigned to execute dangerous tasks in exchange for shorter prison sentences. Suicide Squad will shoot it’s way into theaters August 5, 2016.
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Source: Empire, CBM, Nerd Reactor