James Gunn was told by Warner Bros. he could kill anyone in The Suicide Squad. Part sequel, part reboot, Gunn's upcoming film is a follow-up to director David Ayer's 2016 film, Suicide Squad. To shake things up, DC brought in Gunn, who, at the time, had recently been removed as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Gunn was eventually reinstated by Disney, but he was to complete work on The Suicide Squad before returning to the MCU.
Having brought one misanthropic and obscure comic book team to the big screen successfully, Gunn seems primed to help The Suicide Squad do what its predecessor couldn't. The director has promised the film is a more extreme version of the 2016 film in all areas, ensuring that The Suicide Squad is heavily R-rated and follows through on its promise of violence and mayhem. Early glimpses of the film hint at the scope of what's to come and the massive new cast, along with several returnees, but all of them won't be making it to the end of the film.
Gunn told Total Film that Warner Bros. told him he had carte blanche with the film's cast of characters, allowing him to bring back anyone he wanted from the 2016 film alongside the new squad members he planned to introduce. Gunn says Warner Bros. was entirely on board with his story from the beginning and the studio even gave him permission to kill any of the characters in the film.
They said I could keep [all the characters] or do away with them all. I could do a completely new squad – which I considered – and they said, 'You can kill anyone.' Warner were pretty much on board [with the story] from the beginning – it was pretty much firmly in place from the inception of me taking on the project.
One of the criticisms leveled at the 2016 Suicide Squad was that the film didn't deliver on its promise. Bringing a group of snarky supervillains together to save the world all but guarantees that things will go awry. While things definitely go off the rails in the 2016 film, it wasn't nearly as exciting as fans were hoping. The Suicide Squad's first trailer seems to immediately make it clear that will be changing with Gunn's take on the team, from the profanity-laden banter between the squadmates to the massive amount of villains on the cast.
Gunn has brought onboard a huge cast for The Suicide Squad, some of whom are clearly going to die. While Warner Bros. gave the director permission to kill just about anyone, it's safe to assume that at least a few members are safe, including Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and John Cena's Peacemaker. As for the rest of them, it seems Gunn will be picking them off one-by-one when The Suicide Squad finally makes its way into the world this summer. The raised stakes and the director's touch might just lead to the villain team-up fans have been waiting for.
Source: Total Film
