Is it a good idea for the new Suicide Squad trailer to invoke Batman v Superman so soon? That surely couldn’t be helped, as this trailer was likely cut before BvS was released and the hope probably was that a new trailer would capitalize on excitement for the new DC Comics cinematic universe. Besides, that ball is already rolling. The universe has been established and we are on our way to Justice League being in theaters next year.
But the latest Suicide Squad preview, which debuted Sunday night during the MTV Movie Awards, at least comes from the same place that BvS did. There’s a fear of Superman and what someone with that kind of power could do if he’s not kept in check. “What if Superman had decided to fly down, rip off the roof of the White House, and grab the President right out of the Oval Office?” someone asks.
Is that why Task Force X, aka the Suicide Squad, was created? That would be an interesting interpretation, though the premise of the supervillain group is to execute missions that need a bad guy touch, unique sets of skills and the likelihood that some of them won’t survive to share the experience. (After two trailers, we still don’t quite know what that mission is, but the team seems to be fighting something… supernatural?)
Anyway, check out the new trailer. This time, “Ballroom Blitz” provides the soundtrack, keeping things rocking like “Bohemian Rhapsody” did for the previous sneak peek at Suicide Squad:
Hey, there was Batman at the 1:38 mark! Actually, the Caped Crusader makes two more appearances during the two-and-a-half-minute trailer. As we get closer to Suicide Squad‘s Aug. 5 release, Warner Bros. will surely promote the fact that Ben Affleck’s new version of Batman is in this movie. And he may be in more of it than we realize.
On Heroic Hollywood‘s latest video show (15:02 mark), Umberto Gonzalez reported that people who have seen test screenings for the film say “there is a lot more Batman in the movie than they’re letting on.” Perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise, considering many of the characters in this movie — Harley Quinn, Joker, Deadshot (Will Smith), and Katana — come from the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery of villains. There has been speculation that Batman largely appears in flashbacks, perhaps shown apprehending Quinn and Joker. But he may also have scenes with the head of Task Force X, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), warning her against putting this black ops team together.
In addition to more wacky behavior from Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), a better look at what El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) can do, and the Joker (Jared Leto) sporting a nasty burn on the left side of his face, this new trailer also gives a quick look at Ike Barinholtz (The Mindy Project), whose role hasn’t been previously announced. Is he really a security guard at the Belle Reve penitentiary where these supervillains are imprisoned? Or is he a ringer for Waller’s secret government agency?
Batman’s role and story speculation aside, the important thing to remember is that this is a movie in which a man (Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang) fights with lethal force while holding a stuffed unicorn.
Written and directed by David Ayer (Fury), Suicide Squad hits theaters on Aug. 5.
