Warner Bros and DC comics pull out all the stops as they announce their cast for the upcoming David Ayer directed Suicide Squad film. Variety reported shortly followed by a confirmation from the studio that the following actors have been added to the cast of the now highly anticipated comic book adaptation:
Jared Leto – The Joker
Will Smith – Deadshot
Tom Hardy – Rick Flag
Margot Robbie – Harley Quinn
Jai Courtney – Captain Boomerang
Cara Delevingne – Enchantress
With a star studded cast like this it’s hard not to be ecstatic about seeing the delinquent anti-hero team on the big screen. For those of you unfamiliar with the Suicide Squad and their place in the DC universe here is a little background. Although the roster of the team may rotate from time to time the basic premise is the same. Take a group of highly skilled and extremely dangerous super-villains and send them on super-secret black ops mission for the US government in exchange for a shortened prison sentence. This dangerous bunch is headed by the strict and ever paranoid government agent Dr. Amanda Waller (rumored to be played by Oprah in the WB film, which if it turns out to be true might be the greatest casting ever in the history of film).
Back to the cast, this seems to be a huge move for WB as they appear to be taking an opposite approach to Marvel when it comes to casting their titular characters. Instead of going with relatively unknowns they are choosing to take a much more marketable approach and cast big names to play their leads. I think this will certainly work out in their favor as the Suicide Squad is comprised of B or even C level comic characters thus the star power can sell the film as oppose to the characters themselves.
Another revealing tidbit is the casting of The Joker. A very risky move considering how much the late Heath Ledgers’ 
Joker was beloved and admired. It’s also a huge risk separating the Joker from Batman as the two are rarely apart even in the comics. I think it’s safe to assume Jared Leto’s Joker will be the “villain” of the film and the target for our Suicide Squad team.
Finally I think it’s important to note that this will only be WB’s third entry into their shared movie universe and it shows they aren’t afraid to hit the ground running. Much like Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy this is a huge risk for DC as the majority of these characters are relative unknowns to the general population. This film also seems to reveal that although we as an audience are only just dipping our toe into this universe these characters have been here and operating for a long time and will seemingly already have encountered the likes of Batman and company at some point in the past. Another huge difference from Marvel as DC seems to be skipping “phase 1” and moving right into “phase 2.” A smart move on their part as this way they can jump right into the meat of the characters without having to spend too much time on boring origin stories.
Before this announcement I was luke warm on the idea of a Suicide Squad film but with this cast it’s really hard not be a little giddy to see the like of Will Smith, Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto share the screen as some of my favorite DC villians.
Let us know what you think of the recent casting news. Sound off in the comments below.
Source: Variety