Warner Brothers and DC Comics apparently didn’t want Marvel Studios to grab all of the comic book superhero movie headlines coming out of the weekend. As Avengers: Age of Ultron finished off an estimated $187.7 million gross at the box office, director David Ayer (Fury, End of Watch) tweeted out a photo of his cinematic supergroup in full costume.
This is the first look at the cast of Suicide Squad, headlined by Will Smith as Deadshot.
Task Force X assembled and ready. #SuicideSquad pic.twitter.com/fEV7E1aPsm
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) May 3, 2015
Also included among the nine actors are Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang (at least that’s what he’s known as in the comic books), Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and a scary-looking Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje underneath the make-up for Killer Croc. Filling out the rest of the cast, from left to right, are Adam Beach (Slipknot), Cara Delevingne (The Enchantress), Karen Fukuhara (Katana) and Jay Hernandez (El Diablo).
The concept of Suicide Squad has a group of super-criminals recruited by the government to participate in dangerous special operations likely to kill them. But in return for completing the missions, their records and prison sentences are eliminated. And if any of the bad guys stray from the task at hand or try to get away, a bomb implanted in their heads will go off. The “Belle Reve” in the background refers to the penitentiary the criminals are housed in.
Not pictured in Ayer’s photo are Jared Leto as The Joker — who may not be part of the team, but is a central figure to the storyline, likely because of his relationship with Quinn — and Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, the government agent in charge of the operation.
A couple of hours after the cast photo was tweeted, Ayer followed up with a photo of Smith in the full battle gear he’ll be wearing as Deadshot, including his signature mask/helmet with targeting scope over one of his eyes.
Deadshot #SuicideSquad pic.twitter.com/HEF0jFeMsO — David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) May 4, 2015
The assassin, often an adversary for Batman in DC Comics, is probably the most popular character associated with Suicide Squad, which is surely why the role attracted a big star like Smith. The story focusing on Deadshot and Harley Quinn is reportedly why actors like Tom Hardy, who was originally attached to the Flagg role, ended up dropping out of the production.
[EDIT: In an interview with Collider, Hardy says he loved the script for Suicide Squad, but had to drop out because shooting for Alejandro G. Inarritu’s The Revenant ran three months over schedule.]
Suicide Squad is scheduled for an Aug. 5, 2016 release.
