So we have been covering the development of the Suicide Squad movie for months now and eventually you get the answers you are looking for. And sometimes you get much more then you asked for. This is one of those situations.
According to a report from Latino Review, they have two reliable informants who have corroborating facts about the Suicide Squad’s story and how it will fit into the larger DC cinematic universe. Since this is just breaking and none of this is fact at this point, we will take these details with a grain of salt. However all of the story beats fit and it is fun speculation. This is exciting stuff so let’s just dig in and dissect it. (HUGE POTENTIAL SPOILERS)
According to LR, they have two independent scoops, so let’s just take a look at both of them and figure out the significance of all of this.
Deadshot and Harley Quinn meet early when Deadshot is assassinating an inmate that is being transported from Arkham. Quinn disrupts the hit when she tries to break Joker out and both are captured and taken to Amanda Waller’s prison.
Waller has Joker moved to the prison as a means to keep Quinn in check. He spends most of the film in a cell, very much like Hannibal Lecter, until he breaks out in the end.
Having Deadshot (Will Smith) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) meet early on is a logical place to start. The pair will have already established chemistry publicly in the upcoming movie Focus, while also setting up Smith as the anti-heroic lead. This scene would also may it clear that Deadshot and Harley are badasses to be recokoned with. I honestly hope we don’t uncover more about this scene before a trailer. (But you know that we will.)
The introduction of the Joker sounds straight out of the Arkham Asylum videogame. Putting him in a Hannibal Lector style mask will also increase the anticipation until fans are literally drooling waiting for the unmasking. What if his face isn’t seen until the third act and not seen publicly or in marketing until the movie opens? Imagine the viral campaign of a masked Joker, in a straight jacket… Golden.
It seems that Warner Bros is looking to all branches of DC for inspiration for their films and that is the correct approach. This comes on the heels of news that director Jay Oliva (Batman v Robin, The Dark Knight Returns) is also doing storyboards for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Next up was how Boomerang and Lex Luthor fits into the picture.
Boomerang is already in the Squad and there is a contention between he and Deadshot, Deadshot killed his father.
The team is tasked on a mission to prevent ‘bio weaponry’ from being sold to Lex Luthor by a human trafficking gang. The gang is handing over the Enchantress to Luthor who it is implied wants her for magical abilities. They kidnap her and take her back to the prison where she is kept in an underground area, which has all sorts of genetic freaks imprisoned including a King Shark.
So in the animated Batman: Assault on Arkham, Boomerang and Deadshot had a rivalry based on marksmanship, with Boomerang perhaps slightly envious of Deadshot. Giving them a backstory where he murdered his father, automatically changes the dynamic and increases the tension. Since Deadshot will be forced to carry out his mission, his own agenda, and making sure to not get literally stabbed in the back. While Boomerang, AKA Digger Harkness, will have a legitimate reason for wanting to put said boomerang in Will Smith’s back. The double crosses will be see fun to see play out.
Many were confused when Cara Delevingne was cast and many had a hard time seeing how she fit into a Suicide Squad movie with the caliber of cast that they had assembled. Well it seems that she may be simply a magical macguffin in human form.
It is interesting, yet not surprising, that Luthor is attempting to gather bio-weaponry. (Enchantress?) There will surely be clues to his schemes which should fit directly in with the upcoming two-part Justice League movie.
The underground section holding genetic freaks instantly expands the universe past the edges of whatever precedent that Dawn of Justice will have set a few months earlier. Not to mention establishing the bizarre King Shark can get fan’s imagination and speculation running with thoughts of a sequel that immediately would bring to mind Guardians of the Galaxy.
So again (HUGE SPOILERS)…like even bigger than the spoilers so far. Are you ready? Alrighty…
Rick Flag is there as a watchdog over Waller. The twist is his character is revealed as being in league with the villain, Rick Flag Snr at the end. (This is what I believe may have been the reason Hardy left) It is out of left field. They want the weapons that Waller has amassed.
There is a lot of action in the script but it primarily deals with Deadshot, Harley Quinn and the Joker. Flag is more of a government agent than anything else before his reveal as a villain.
That mostly speaks for itself. It also is logical that the script revolves around those three since they are the most dynamic characters on the set and in the comics. So that brings us to LR’s second source who explained the following.
A draft of the script has been finished and is being circulated between several executives pending a rewrite. The first part of the film concerns the capture of Lawton and Harley Quinn and afterwards they are taken to a maximum-security prison run by a warden called Waller. They are implanted with explosive devices and forced to be part of a mission where they are attacking an arms dealer’s convoy. They are supposed to steal a weapon but end up capturing a woman called June, she has a split personality and her evil side is a sorceress.
Waller is tracking down and capturing every super powered hero and villain and it is implied that she is after Batman but he is not in the film, only mentioned and shown on camera footage. The film is being used as a set up for the franchises villains and not only the Suicide Squad. Belle Reve (the prison) is home to many of villains beyond the leads. The script ends with a prison riot where most of them escape, including the Joker. The Joker has a large part in the movie but doesn’t get involved in any action scene until the very end during the riot where he kills several people.
This matches up with the first report and actually expands on some crucial points. Most importantly, how the Suicide Squad will expand the DC cinematic universe. The riot at the end of Suicide Squad will immediately release a plethora of DC Comics villains for our heroes to face in their own respective solo movies that WB has planned.
So by that time Suicide Squad is released, WB may have cast their Captain Cold or the new Penguin and we will get to see them fight their way out of prison and into their rightful franchises. It will function much the way that the prisoners escaping Arkham in the midst of a fear toxin attack, set the stage for the villainy in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight series.
The script has been getting much praise in the studio. The rumor is Tom Hardy left because of the changes to his characters although he is in two of the main action scenes.
If these rumors hold up, it is now clear why such a “minor” franchise like the Suicide Squad is being used as the follow up to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Dawn of Justice will be introducing us to the upcoming heroics that we have in story by letting us meet the new Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and Aquaman. While the Suicide Squad will show us the challenges that are in store. That is a great plan.
We will be sure to stay on top of this. Shooting begins in a few months so there will be a lot more on this exciting next stage for Warner Bros. What do you think about the rumor and how it could affect the DC universe? Let us know on , , , and Reddit! Make sure to share our stories on your favorite social media by clicking below.
Source: Latino Review Art by: Boss Logic