James Gunn and Margot Robbie decided that Harley Quinn wouldn't be the main character in The Suicide Squad. Harley is just one of the four returning characters in the film - she will be joined by Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag, and Jai Courtney's Captain Boomerang. Gunn has made it clear, though, that David Ayer's 2016 Suicide Squad isn't required viewing for his new film and to ensure that, the director has brought onboard a veritable slate of new villains to round out Task Force X.
John Cena will play Peacemaker, a character that will be getting his own HBO Max series in January 2022. Idris Elba has been brought onboard as Bloodsport, while Sylvester Stallone is voicing the character King Shark. In addition to them, Gunn will introduce Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), Savant (Michael Rooker), The Detachable Kid (Nathan Fillion), and Blackguard (Pete Davidson). Surprisingly, that's not all of them, and part of the reason why Gunn has stacked the cast so much is because many of the villains will die during the events of The Suicide Squad.
One who seems unlikely to die is Robbie's Harley Quinn, but, as popular as she is, Gunn and the actress didn't feel she needed to be the main character of the film. In an interview with SR, the actress said that, because there are so many characters to focus on, Gunn wanted to give each their moment to shine. Robbie sees Harley as "a catalyst of chaos," one who is in the center of the action, but not necessarily the emotional heart of the film. Audiences are meant to process the emotion of the film with Harley, not because of Harley. Check out Robbie's full statement below:
Well, look, there's a lot going on in this movie. There's a lot of characters to service, and everyone really does get their moment.
I see Harley as a catalyst of chaos, and James definitely agreed. She's kind of thrown into situations to shake shit up, but she's not necessarily the emotion. You're not meant to navigate through the emotions of it with her, but she has some surprisingly emotional moments all the same.
I knew I was in very good hands with James, because I love his films and he's just really smart.
As Robbie says, with so many characters in the film, it seems like it would be difficult to focus on one, even when considering their popularity. While there does seem to be a core four in Rick Flag, Peacemaker, Bloodsport, and Harley, Gunn clearly loves The Suicide Squad's villains and their history in the comics. It's no surprise that the director would want to give each character their moment in the spotlight.
With time to flourish, it will be all the more tragic when members of Task Force X die in the film. Gunn has even teased that Harley Quinn could die in The Suicide Squad, making it seem as if no one is truly safe from Starro or the various other threats Task Force X will face. Seeing as she is one of the DCEU's most popular characters, it's hard to see that happening, but it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to revive her in another film, either a sequel to The Suicide Squad or another entry in the franchise, if she were to actually die.
