Joel Kinnaman says The Suicide Squad’s Rick Flag is completely different than his character from David Ayer’s Suicide Squad (2016). Writer/director James Gunn’s upcoming DCEU sequel/spiritual reboot sees Kinnaman reprise his role as Col. Rick Flag, the military man who is assigned Amanda Waller’s Task Force X. This time, joining Flag, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) are newcomers including Peacemaker (John Cena), Bloodsport (Idris Elba), and a slew of other oddballs like T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion) and King Shark (Sylvester Stallone).
If The Suicide Squad’s promotional material is any indication, Gunn looks to infuse the sequel with his irreverent humor, paying homage to the heart of John Ostrander's comic. 2016’s Suicide Squad was criticized for approaching its source material too seriously. For example, Rick Flag is written and depicted as a grumpy, yet subordinate and generic soldier. You’d be forgiven for forgetting he’s in even that movie. The Suicide Squad’s trailers make Flag’s differences apparent from the jump. His appearance is not only sillier, sporting a yellow t-shirt as opposed to tactical/military gear, but he sports a “SKWAD” tattoo—which hints at a fondness for his work with Task Force X. On top of that, he feels like a real leader.
In a Screen Rant exclusive interview, Kinnaman talked about how viewers are in for a completely different version of his character this time around. The actor explained that The Suicide Squad’s Flag isn't bound by his performance in 2016. Read what he had to say below:
"Yeah, it was a little bit of an unusual journey, to come back to a character but actually sort of reinvent him. James Gunn's Suicide Squad feels like it's in a different universe, and his take on the character was tonally different from the first iteration. The first conversation that I had with James, I just said, 'Look, I'm not going to try to be bound by what I did in the first film. Sure, I'll bring some of that into it, so it doesn't become weird. But I'm going to let this character be what it needs to be in this universe.'"
Given WB/DC's abandonment of the Snyder-Verse and implementation of a multiverse via The Flash, Gunn doesn't know which universe his Suicide Squad operates in. For all we know, The Suicide Squad could take place in a different universe than its 2016 counterpart. Kinnaman went on to praise Gunn’s take on the DC property, calling it one of the most entertaining films he’s ever seen. The changes made to Kinnaman’s character are indicative of The Suicide Squad’s tone. Instead of resentment, Flag feels mild irritation riddled with affection for Task Force X, saying things like “we don’t leave one of our own behind” and “that’s kind of our thing” in response to someone saying “that’s suicide.” He’s clearly more of a necessary centerpiece/surrogate for the audience in Gunn’s film and is expected to have memorable chemistry with his squad members.
The Suicide Squad sees Flag and his collection of supervillains dropped on the remote island of Corto Maltese to battle Starro, a kaiju-sized starfish set on world domination. Gunn has hinted at a high death toll for the film, even going as far as saying two character deaths, in particular, make him cry. It would be a shame to say goodbye to Flag especially since we’re only just getting to know him. The Suicide Squad will release in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6th.
