James Gunn reveals 13 other DC characters he considered for The Suicide Squad, including Deathstroke. During the time when Gunn was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Warner Bros. and DC Films called the filmmaker to bring him into the DC Extended Universe. He had his choice of projects and decided that a new Suicide Squad movie fit him the best. Gunn is taking the franchise in a fresh direction after the poor reception to the 2016 movie.
The Suicide Squad features a mostly new collection of obscure DC villains risking their lives to save the world and reduce their prison sentences. The cast includes Margot Robbie returning as Harley Quinn from the first film, as well as Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag), and Viola Davis (Amanda Waller). Gunn scoured DC's comic history to find other obscure villains to pair with these characters. His final lineup is headlined by Idris Elba's Bloodsport and John Cena's Peacemaker, but it also includes the likes of Polka-Dot Man, King Shark, Ratcatcher 2, Javelin, Sol Soria, Savant, T.D.K., Mongal, Blackguard, Weasel, and Thinker. The large cast of characters is why The Suicide Squad is expected to feature multiple Task Force X teams and plenty of casualties.
The collection of DC villains in The Suicide Squad is a fun mix of lesser-known characters and some completely obscure additions. However, James Gunn considered plenty of other DC villains for the movie. He's now revealed on Twitter a list of 13 other characters that were considered but ultimately left out as he felt the final selections were the best fits for the story. The list includes Livewire, Punch, Jewelee, Black Spider, Deathstroke, Man-Bat, Plastique, Chemo, KGBeast, Solomon Grundy, Rainbow, Creature, Gunhawk, and Knockout. Gunn isn't ruling out these villains appearing in a sequel either.
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The most notable character considered for The Suicide Squad that was left out is Deathstroke. Joe Manganiello was already cast as Deathstroke for Ben Affleck's The Batman but never got a chance to appear after Justice League's tease. This could've been an opportunity for him to appear as long as Gunn didn't elect to recast the role. KGBeast also appeared in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but this could've been a more comic-accurate version of the character. None of these other characters have appeared in the DCEU before, but some, like Livewire and Plastique, appeared in the Arrowverse.
Now that Gunn has revealed these alternate characters for The Suicide Squad, fans will likely try and figure out how they could've fit into the movie. Solomon Grundy and Chemo could've been alternatives to King Shark, while KGBeast, Gunhawk, and Black Spider could've been considered to replace Blackguard, Bloodsport, or Peacemaker. Man-Bat seems like an alternative to Weasel, while Deathstroke also could've been a lead character instead of Bloodsport or Peacemaker. Since Gunn has an interest in bringing these DC villains to life on the big screen, that could happen in a sequel to The Suicide Squad if the movie is as successful as expected.
Source: James Gunn
