Warner Bros. has now officially confirmed the major players in the Suicide Squad cast, and it’s definitely impressive. Will Smith will star as Deadshot in the David Ayer-directed film, while Jared Leto’s role as The Joker has been confirmed, along with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Tom Hardy and Jai Courtney are also along for the ride, as Rick Flagg and Boomerang, respectively, while Cara Delevinge rounds out the cast as Enchantress.
Variety broke news of the casting earlier today, finally confirming rumors that have been circulating for weeks. The film is scheduled to begin production in April, and will center on a team of supervillains enlisted by the US government to carry out covert missions, in exchange for pardoning some of their past indiscretions. Inside sources also claim that Jesse Eisenberg will reprise his Lex Luthor role from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for another appearance in Suicide Squad. Variety says that Warner Bros. envisions the film as a supervillain version of Ocean’s Eleven, and wanted to secure a top-notch cast for the project.
“The Warner Bros. roots are deep on this one,” Warner Bros. president Greg Silverman said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under David Ayer’s amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero.”
The most interesting choice here seems to be Leto, who has passed over a number of films in the wake of his Oscar-winning role in Dallas Buyers Club. He’ll have big shoes to fill, as Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime in The Dark Knight is considered by many to be the definitive version of the character. Here’s hoping Leto takes a completely different approach – in fact, I’m hoping for something that hews closely to the version that Mark Hamill has voices for the past 20 years or so.
Suicide Squad still has one major role to cast, with Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis and Oprah Winfrey all being eyed for the role of team director Amanda Waller. While Winfrey is said to be the studio’s first choice, Spencer and Davis seem much more likely. We’ll continue to keep you posted as that situation pans out.
I’ve got to admit, I wasn’t sure that to make of the rumors that have swirling around this flick, but now that everything is official, I’m impressed with the Suicide Squad cast. Warner Bros. is definitely making a statement that they’re taking their comic book properties seriously, and with Ayer at the helm, this could turn out to be pretty damn good.
Suicide Squad will hit theaters on August 5, 2016.