DC Comics has given director James Gunn full authority to do whatever he wants with the characters in The Suicide Squad. Touted as a standalone sequel to David Ayer's 2016 blockbuster, The Suicide Squad follows the deviant, eponymous DC Comics anti-hero team through a narrative that is inspired by the 1980s Suicide Squad comics. The film features an ensemble cast led by Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Peter Capaldi, Joel Kinnaman, John Cena, and Idris Elba, and it's scheduled to release in the United States on August 6, 2021.
Talks about a Suicide Squad sequel began even before the original film's release in March 2016. Initially, Ayer was set to helm the sequel, but he dropped out to direct Gotham City Sirens instead. Warrior director Gavin O'Connor was then assigned the directorial duties. However, he too exited the project citing creative differences. Following O'Connor's departure, Warner Bros. signed Gunn to direct The Suicide Squad, who before jumping on board, negotiated over his creative liberties in the film. Subsequently, DC allowed Gunn to choose from any character within the DC universe that he liked. And now Gunn has also opened up about another advantage that had while filming the movie.
On Saturday, Gunn held an impromptu Q/A session for The Suicide Squad with his fans on Twitter. There, he also engaged in some chit-chat with the franchises' admirers, asking them “What two characters do you think are most likely to survive #TheSuicideSquad?”. While an overwhelming majority said Harley (Robbie) and Waller (Davis), one particular fan, @DapperJabber responded with a comprehensive answer, listing the odds of every character dying in The Suicide Squad. “Harley Quinn has franchise armor," the user noted. "Pretty sure King Shark and Amanda Waller also have ‘DC has them in other things’ protection. And everyone we'll set at an 80% chance of dying.” Gunn responded to the tweet, revealing that DC Comics did not bar him from killing off any character, in fact, they gave him "carte blanche" to do what he wanted. See his tweet below:
Gunn's revelation instantaneously stirred restlessness among Suicide Squad fans. As a matter of fact, another Twitter user told Gunn that he'd infuriate a lot of fans if he kills off a popular character. To which Gunn responded that "There are angry fans no matter what choice you make." He revealed that he still gets hate messages about Yondu and Boltie's deaths in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Super respectively. But the hate doesn't diminish the narrative significance of the events. Fans also inquired Gunn if any actors had pleaded with him to not kill off their characters. Gunn responded elaboratively by saying that while informing actors about the end of their character is always heartbreaking, he has only encountered performers who've handled the news maturely.
It will certainly be interesting to see who dies and who survives in The Suicide Squad, especially now that it's clear that several characters do not have the franchise immunity. Fans already know that John Cena's Peacemaker is not safe although he is getting his own spin-off series and now several of the most counted upon squad members are also in the red-zone. Yet, despite Gunn's creative liberties, it's quite unlikely that Harley Quinn will die in The Suicide Squad, given how important the character is in pushing the story forward. Amanda Waller, however, may likely die in the movie as her death will throw the squad into chaos, accounting for a proper reason for several characters to head separate ways.
Source: James Gunn
