Warning: Spoilers for The Suicide Squad
Director James Gunn reveals that he couldn’t bring himself to kill one of The Suicide Squad's main characters. Gunn's new movie is considered a soft reboot of David Ayer's Suicide Squad from 2016. Even though The Suicide Squad wasn't marketed as a sequel, the movie features the return of some of Ayer's characters including Captain Boomerang, Rick Flag, Amanda Waller, and Harley Quinn.
Though Ayer’s Suicide Squad was a financial success, it was panned by fans and critics alike. After Gunn was fired (and later reinstated) by Disney as the director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he was by Warner Bros. to helm The Suicide Squad. So far, Gunn's version of the property has been praised critically, with audiences appreciating Gunn's unique and humorous take on the supervillains. Over a dozen characters were advertised to be in the movie, yet Gunn decided to kill off several Suicide Squad characters in the very first scene. Though a risky and bold move, it is stylistically accurate to Gunn’s previous directorial visions; he isn’t afraid to mislead his audience and use unexpected events to generate shock. However, there was one character he couldn’t risk killing.
In an interview with Variety, while discussing some of his cinematic decisions for The Suicide Squad, James Gunn revealed that he originally killed off Ratcatcher 2. He admitted that he couldn’t bring himself to go through with this vision, as he believed Ratcatcher was too "sweet" to kill at the end. He also added that he worried her death would make the film too dark, something Warner Bros. has been trying to shy away from.
“No, [a Harley Quinn or Bloodsport death] never happened. But there was a change. The original ending that I pitched, one main character died and one main character did not die. And the main character who died was Ratcatcher 2. She was so sweet, I just felt like it was just too dark. Not that we don’t love Polka Dot Man. We do. I just couldn’t [kill Ratcatcher 2]. So I relented.”
Gunn’s worry over how his audience could have perceived his original ending to The Suicide Squad shows how attentive he is as a director. With his skill and experience, he knew that he could escape killing off half a dozen characters within the opening credits but wouldn’t be able to get away with killing Ratcatcher 2 at the end without sacrificing the tone of the movie. Ratcatcher 2 has been a fan-favorite since the movie premiered, but as of right now, it's unknown if Daniela Melchior will be returning to the role in a future project.
DC movies have been considerably darker than MCU projects, but with most comic book movies, the heroes usually prevail. Even with the Suicide Squad movies focusing on villains, the two films have shown the light in the villains like with Harley Quinn escaping the abusive clutches of the Joker. With a horror background, Gunn seemed to know how much violence and dark storylines were needed to make The Suicide Squad a compelling comic book movie. That being said, he also likely looked to Ayer's Suicide Squad to see what did and didn't work with audiences. In the end, it looks like Gunn thought killing Ratcatcher 2 wouldn't have gone over well with fans.
Source: Variety
