The Suicide Squad writer/director James Gunn reveals why he loved writing the character Ratcatcher 2. After the Guardians of the Galaxy director was sacked by Marvel for offensive tweets which were unearthed (though he has since been re-hired), Warner Bros. quickly capitalized on the opportunity, giving the filmmaker carte blanche to make any DC project he pleased. Gunn chose The Suicide Squad, based on one of his favorite comic books of all time by John Ostrander. The team of supervillains is known for undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences.
On August 6, Ratcatcher 2 (played by Daniela Melchior) will be one of many characters storming the beaches of Corto Maltese in Gunn’s new iteration of Task Force X. The returning roster includes Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), and Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney). Still, they are far outnumbered by nutty newcomers like Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), King Shark (Sylvester Stallone), and Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian). Given the nature of their mission, many of these characters are not expected to make it out alive.
James Gunn has stated numerous times that The Suicide Squad was the most fun he’s ever had making a movie, especially when assembling its eccentric cast of supervillains. Gunn seems to have a particular affinity for Ratcatcher 2, a character who can control rats. In an interview with Screen Rant, Gunn talked about how much he loved crafting the character:
I definitely was surprised, I think, by a number of characters. But Ratcatcher II was one of them. I started to fall in love with this character - not in a romantic sense, but she's just got so much heart and so much wonderfulness about her as a human being.
Even though she's as flawed as anybody else in a way - she's very lazy, and she sleeps all the time - she's just got this wonderful heart and kindness about her that made me just love her so much as a character.
Also known as Cleo Cazo, Ratcatcher 2 is the daughter of the original Ratcatcher, who taught her taming, training, and controlling the swarms of the rodents. After the first Ratcatcher was taken down by Batman, she took up his mantle and thus became known as the second. Lacking any parental figures, Ratcatcher 2 develops a close father/daughter relationship with Bloodsport during their mission on the island Corto Maltese.
Ratcatcher 2 is an obscure character with an intriguing backstory, so it’s no wonder why Gunn loved writing her and said she’s the character in The Suicide Squad who he’s most excited for fans to see. With Guardians of the Galaxy’s Rocket and Groot acting as prime examples, Gunn has a knack for taking these obscure comics characters and turning them into fan-favorites for his films. It looks like this talent has translated brilliantly over to the DCEU for The Suicide Squad.
