In a bit of a surprise Friday news drop, writer/director James Gunn has revealed the full The Suicide Squad cast for his upcoming sequel. It includes already reported returning cast members like Margot Robbie and Joel Kinnaman alongside newly revealed newcomers, like Gunn staple Michael Rooker.
The full Suicide Squad cast is as follows:
Margot Robbie
Idris Elba
Viola Davis
Michael Rooker
Joel Kinnaman
Jai Courtney
John Cena
Nathan Fillion
David Dastmalchian
Taika Waititi
Alice Braga
Sean Gunn
Storm Reid
Pete Davidson
Flula Borg
Peter Capaldi
Joaquín Cosío
Mayling Ng
Juan Diego Botto
Steve Agee
Tinashe Kajese
Daniela Melchior
Julio Ruis
Jennifer Holland
Gunn cautions not to get too attached, so many of these roles will likely be nothing more than glorified cameos (remember Slipknot?). Character information remains under wraps, but Elba originally signed on to replace Will Smith as Deadshot before Gunn and Warner Bros. changed tactics. Now, Elba is playing an unnamed different character. We also know that David Dastmalchian is playing Polka Dot Man and Daniela Melchior is playing a gender-flipped version of the character Ratcatcher. Rooker is, of course, a bit of a good luck charm for Gunn having appeared in Slither and both Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
And we now have confirmation that actors who won't be returning from the first Suicide Squad are Smith (Deadshot), Jay Hernandez (Diablo), Karen Fukuhara (Katana), Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje (Killer Croc), Scott Eastwood (GQ), Ike Barinholtz (Griggs), and of course Jared Leto (Joker).
The Suicide Squad isn’t a complete reboot of the franchise, but Gunn is taking the series in his own direction. David Ayer directed the first Suicide Squad, which hit theaters in 2016 to scathing reviews and an impressive box office of $746.8 million worldwide. Warner Bros. went to a number of directors for this sequel, including J.A. Bayona and Gavin O’Connor, but those deals never worked out. Fortunately, they snatched up Gunn during his brief separation from Marvel Studios, although Gunn will return to the Marvel fold after Suicide Squad to wrap up his Guardians trilogy.
Filming on The Suicide Squad begins in Atlanta on September 23rd. Check out Gunn’s tweet with the full cast below, which also includes the snazzy logo for the film.
For a full list of upcoming DC movies, click here.