Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad has officially hit theaters and HBO Max to widespread praise, and Ratcatcher 2 actor Daniela Melchior posted an adorable photo to celebrate. James Gunn, director of the DCEU's newest installment, has made it clear that the The Suicide Squad is neither a sequel nor a reboot of David Ayer's 2016 film, Suicide Squad. Rather, it's a completely different story with new characters and villains. Nonetheless, The Suicide Squad still pays homage to Ayer's film, and sees Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), and Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) reprise their roles for the new movie.
Gunn found himself in a unique position when The Suicide Squad earned a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes—a week before the movie came out in the US. The first reviews of the movie, which debuted in the UK on July 30th, put it at an impressive 96% rating. Following its premiere stateside, The Suicide Squad continues to receive positive reviews, with the current Rotten Tomatoes rating standing at 93%. Gunn's impressive ratings come as no surprise after his past MCU projects, Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel, have both earned Certified Fresh ratings. He's returning to Marvel Studios to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is slotted to premiere in May 2023.
To celebrate the success of The Suicide Squad, Melchior posted a sweet throwback photo from set. Melchior captioned the image, "Reading all the tweets about #TheSuicideSquad @SuicideSquadWB and #Ratcatcher2 like..." while posing with her character's trusty rodent sidekick, Sebastian. Check out her selfie below:
Prior to her performance in The Suicide Squad, Melchior was a relatively unknown actor. The 24-year-old has only starred in a handful of Portuguese TV shows, but her first major role as Cleo Cazo in the latest DCEU film is sure to bring some attention to the young actor. Ratcatcher 2's tragic backstory and relationship to her beloved father bring a substantial amount of heart to Gunn's otherwise gory, violence-ridden superhero flick. Cleo is tasked with accompanying the squad on a mission to the remote island of Corto Maltese in order to destroy Jötunheim, Nazi-era laboratory, before it falls into the hands of an anti-American military regime. Her animal-centric powers may have landed Cleo in prison, but throughout her adventure with Task Force X, she never proves herself to be a cold-blooded killer. It's a compelling arc, especially in her scenes alongside Idris Elba's Bloodsport.
After The Suicide Squad's shocking post-credits scenes, the future of Task Force X and the DCEU as a whole seems to be bursting with opportunity. One of the post-credits scenes, which reveals John Cena's Peacemaker is actually alive, set the first DCEU TV show, Peacemaker. Pitched, written, and directed by Gunn himself, the series is planned to premiere on HBO Max in Winter 2022. Fans can expect much more from DCTV, with a Green Lantern show, a Justice League Dark TV series/movie, and a Val-Zod show starring Michael B. Jordan as just a few of the studio's upcoming superhero projects. The Suicide Squad proved to be a massive success in repairing the franchise's name, and thankfully for fans, it seems like plenty more missions are in the future for Task Force X.
Source: Daniela Melchior