This post contains affiliate links and our team will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links.
WB is getting into the cinematic universe game, using the DC Comic properties to make a living cinematic universe, similar to what Marvel has been doing over the past few years. The first building block of their new universe came with last year’s Zack Snyder film, Man of Steel, which is being followed up with the highly buzzed about Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. That film is finishing its production soon, and will be moving into post before we see it in March 2016, but the next DC film is ramping up to move into production, and it actually seems to be the most interesting and promising film in the WB/DC universe.
The film in question is Suicide Squad, and it will be the first film to follow up Dawn of Justice in 2016, and while the comic property may not be the most well known, WB is making sure people will take notice with the cast they’ve assembled for the film, and it’s quite the doozy. Variety was the first to break the news of the cast which includes Will Smith leading the film as Deadshot, Jared Leto as the Joker, and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. The film, directed by David Ayer, will begin shooting this April in Toronto.
The first official names of the cast are below:
- Jared Leto – The Joker
- Will Smith – Deadshot
- Tom Hardy – Rick Flag
- Margot Robbie – Harley Quinn
- Jai Courtney – Boomerang
- Cara Delevingne – Enchantress
The cast isn’t complete just yet though. Jesse Eisenberg, who will be playing Superman’s arch nemesis Lex Luthor in Dawn of Justice is expected to return in this film, while WB is hoping to cast Oprah Winfrey in the role of Amanda Waller, the character who brings the team together. If Winfrey doesn’t take the role though, WB also has their eyes on Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis, both who would be great second choices for the character if Winfrey were to pass on the project.
Suicide Squad is such an interesting project for WB, and while I questioned it being the follow up to Dawn of Justice, it’s not hard to see why now. This cast is incredibly, and the way it looks to be expanding so much of the DC universe on film is incredibly exciting. The idea of Jared Leto’s Joker going toe-to-toe with Ben Affleck’s Batman in an eventual solo film of Gotham’s caped crusader is absolutely tantalizing, and even more so knowing that Harley Quinn will be a part of it as well. It’s great to see Margot Robbie and Tom Hardy both taking part as well, because the two are immensely talented, and I can’t wait to see them in this ensemble, and having a bigger part in the overall DC universe. The only casting I’m not over the moon about is Jai Courtney, who has continually proven to be the weakest link in the films he has been in, but hopefully he can change that with the new Angelina Jolie directed film Unbroken, and next year’s Terminator: Genisys.
But the most interesting casting choice is Will Smith as Deadshot, mostly because this will be the first time in a long, long time that Will Smith will be leading a bigger ensemble, not solo leading a film. Smith has been very picky with his choices lately, even infamously turning down Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained because he didn’t think the film would let Django be the hero. The character of Deadshot though will play against his squeaky clean image though, because Deadshot is one of the most ruthless villains in the DC universe. The whole film will be very much like Guardians of the Galaxy, where a bunch of roguish villains band together on a suicide mission that no one else can handle, and Smith’s Deadshot will be leading the pack.
I’m absolutely floored by the casting, and I can’t wait to see how this film comes together, and how it begins to expand on the greater DC universe. The cast is absolutely incredible, and with David Aeyer behind the camera, this film has a chance of being one of the best of 2016. What do you think of the cast of Suicide Squad? Are you excited for the film? Leave your thoughts in the usual place below!
