Suicide Squad star Jai Courtney has discussed potential avenues for Captain Boomerang to return to the DCEU. Captain Boomerang is one of the more peculiar comic book characters to grace the big screen in recent memory. The character is something of an Australian answer to Hawkeye, with his primary skill being his extremely sharp ability with a variety of high-tech boomerangs. He originally appeared as a villain for The Flash (both Barry Allen and Wally West), though he later joined the Suicide Squad in the comics.
Courtney, who is himself Australian, originated the character in the live-action DC universe in the 2016 film Suicide Squad. That film saw him save the world from Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) alongside various supervillains including Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Although most of the cast did not return for the 2021 James Gunn follow-up The Suicide Squad, which was also somewhat of a course correction for the critically maligned franchise, Courtney did reprise the role of Captain Boomerang. The advertising made it seem that he would hold a major role in the film, but it was eventually revealed that he was part of a cheeky opening sequence that featured an entire platoon of B-level villains being killed in an epic display of carnage.
Courtney recently spoke with ComicBook while promoting his new Prime Video series The Terminal List, in which he co-stars with Chris Pratt, Taylor Kitsch, and Constance Wu. During the conversation, he revealed that he would love to play Captain Boomerang again, saying "if they want me to throw that jacket on again, I'll be more than happy to oblige." While he acknowledges there would probably never be a movie about his character, he would love an HBO Max miniseries where he could "get into some backstory stuff and the nature of how he falls in the DC world." Read his full quote below:
Look, I don't know. The sort of TV streaming realm right now is really exciting and I think exploring something like that, you know, longer format and giving it a little more space would be really cool. I kind of have some ideas around that, you know, which I think would work for a character like [Captain] Boomerang because he's so much fun. I think it'd be really cool to get into some backstory stuff and the nature of how he falls in the DC world, you know?
I doubt wherever, you know, particularly now, I doubt there's any plans for a standalone film, but yeah, man. I mean, that'd be cool. He's one of those roles that I would love to just kind of be able to do again and again. It's like so much fun and probably a little too easy for me in a way. But I think there's tremendous potential for enjoyment with something like that and we could really push the kind of boundaries of what's possible. So, listen, just waiting on the call from Warner Brothers. I mean, if they want me to throw that jacket on again. I'll be more than happy to oblige.
It is certainly true that, should Warner Bros. take the bait and make a new Captain Boomerang project, its best fit would be as a streaming series. The Suicide Squad universe has found its niche on HBO Max, with the 2021 film performing extremely well on the platform in spite of its lukewarm box office take. HBO also scored a huge hit with the Suicide Squad spinoff series Peackemaker starring John Cena. The show, which ran on HBO Max earlier this year, was so popular it was renewed for season 2.
As for what stories might feature the Suicide Squad character, that's another question. Captain Boomerang has already died in the current timeline, not that that has stopped a comic book character from returning in the past. Courtney's idea of exploring his origin is probably the best move, as the character has largely been a punchline in recent DCEU projects and it might be interesting to really explore what makes him tick.
Source: ComicBook