James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ Adds Peter Capaldi to Stacked Ensemble; Pete Davidson in Talks for Cameo Role

Sep 3, 2019

The Warner Bros. sort-of sequel to ‘Suicide Squad’ now has Peter Capaldi onboard the star-studded ensemble, while Pete Davidson is in talks for a small cameo. Their roles are currently unknown.

Capaldi is popular for playing the twelfth Doctor in the BBC series ‘Doctor Who.’ He was recently in Paul King’s ‘Paddington’ movies, Marc Forster’s ‘Christopher Robin,’ and the BBC/Netflix miniseries ‘Watership Down.’ Next, he will appear in Armando Iannucci’s ‘The Personal History of David Copperfield,’ releasing in 2020.

Davidson is currently in the Emmy-winning NBC series ‘Saturday Night Live.’ This year, he was in Netflix’s ‘The Dirt’ and Sony Animation’s ‘The Angry Birds Movie 2.’ He will next star in Judd Apatow’s upcoming untitled comedy, which he also co-wrote, releasing June 19, 2020.

Meanwhile, James Gunn serves as writer and director for ‘The Suicide Squad’ (the current title anyway). The film follows David Ayer’s 2016 film ‘Suicide Squad,’ but rather than a straight sequel, this is described as a new take on the property from the mind of Gunn that will feature a mix of new and old characters. Further, the project is very much rooted in Gunn’s vibe, as seen in his ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies.

Moreover, Viola Davis is coming back to play Amanda Waller, while Margot Robbie will reprise the role of Harley Quinn. According to the actors themselves, Jai Courtney and Joel Kinnaman will be returning to play Captain Boomerang and Rick Flagg, respectively.

Idris Elba (‘Luther,’ ‘Hobbs & Shaw’) will now be playing a new character, instead of replacing Will Smith as Deadshot. However, the character is unknown, but it could be Bronze Tiger. Deadshot has been written out of the movie, but may return in the future, with Smith returning. Storm Reid (‘A Wrinkle in Time,’ ‘When They See Us’) will play the daughter of Idris Elba’s character. Flula Borg (‘Pitch Perfect 2,’ ‘Counterpart’) will play a love interest to one of the characters. Nathan Fillion (‘Firefly,’ ‘Castle’) and Taika Waititi (‘What We Do in the Shadows,’ ‘Thor: Ragnarok’) have undisclosed roles as well.

Also, several new characters will be introduced:

  • Nanaue, aka King Shark
    • Steve Agee (‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,’ ‘Brightburn’) will lend his voice.
  • Ratcatcher, aka Maria the Millennial
    • Newcomer Daniela Melchior will portray the genderbent character.
  • Polka-Dot Man, aka Mister Polka Dot
    • David Dastmalchian (‘Blade Runner 2049,’ ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’) depicts the role.
  • Peacemaker, aka Christopher Smith
    • John Cena (‘Blockers,’ ‘Bumblebee’) is in talks, due to scheduling conflicts from Dave Bautista (‘Guardians of the Galaxy’).

There will also be a monstrous femme fatale character. The description states she is a surly, creature-like, muscular alien woman. The role will require a heavy use of prosthetics, akin to Killer Croc. Our own KC Walsh speculates the character could be either Rampage, Voodoo, a genderbent Despero, or (my pick) Duchess.

Additionally, second unit director and supervising stunt coordinator Guy Norris (‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’) will return, as he was part of the first film. Cinematographer Henry Braham (‘The Golden Compass,’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2′), costume designer Judianna Makovsky (‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,’ ‘Avengers: Endgame’), production designer Beth Mickle (‘Drive,’ ‘Only God Forgives’) and visual effects supervisor Kelvin McIlwain (‘Aquaman,’ ‘Shazam!’) are also part of the crew.

Filming will begin September 23rd and wrap January 31st in Atlanta, Georgia. A table reading will commence on September 11th.

Warner Bros. will release the film on August 6, 2021.

Source: Deadline