2016's Suicide Squad was deemed a disappointment by both fans and critics alike. The film was riddled with pacing and editing issues, not to mention a lackluster story and bad villains. With the exceptions of Harley Quinn and, to a lesser extent, Deadshot, the film's characters also didn't get much development, lacking both in motivation and/or characterization.

In his reboot/semi-sequel, The Suicide Squad, James Gunn will tackling even more new characters. This might be concerning to some, as there's always the chance his film will have the same problem utilizing its characters as the first movie. However, Gunn might be the director to make the large cast of characters feel developed and connected to each other, having already done just that with the two Guardians of the Galaxy films.

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Gunn Proved It With Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Movie

2014's Guardians of the Galaxy introduced viewers to a team of essentially obscure cosmic Marvel characters, fleshing out their own backstories and having them bounce off each other for further development. The characters were all connected to each other in various ways. Drax hates Ronan, who works for Gamora's father. Rocket is a longtime friend of Groot, and his apparent translator. He also goads Drax into keeping his vendetta at bay, so as to not get killed. Star Lord is the scoundrel with the heart of gold that brings them all together for a higher mission. The first movie does an effective job of managing its big cast by giving everyone clear motivations and something to do.

This continued in the sequel. New characters were introduced, such as Star Lord's villainous father Ego, the empathic Mantis and former allies of Star Lord's adoptive mentor Yondu. Some of these characters are mainly there as comic relief, but still stand out enough on their own to make an impression.

The same can't be said for Diablo, Katana or Enchantress in Suicide Squad. These characters were either given poor characterization, dumb motivations or nothing at all. Gunn has shown his ability to make each member of a team integral, even if just for comedic purposes, which will come in handy for The Suicide Squad and its new characters.

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Returning Characters

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn

The Suicide Squad's returning characters include Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller, Rick Flagg and Captain Boomerang. Similar to how the new characters in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 mostly built off of already established characters, the same could be done here. That way, half of the work is already done. For instance, Vol. 2 introduced a team of the original Guardians of the Galaxy, all without bogging the film down. This detailed character balance shows why Gunn understands how to make ensemble films work.

The nature of the Suicide Squad means that some, if not many of the new arrivals will die. Slipknot and Diablo bit the bullet in the previous film, and The Suicide Squad features such laughably obscure villains as Polka Dot Man. There's a good chance at least one won't leave the film alive. The film's kill count will make the balancing act of introducing and developing new characters that much easier. Additionally, although, the villain for hasn't been announced yet, pretty much anything will be better than the much maligned Enchantress and her equally boring brother.

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Suicide Squad Was Meant to Be Warner Bros.' GotG

Suicide Squad No R-Rated Movies

The original Suicide Squad underwent a lot of edits and revisions -- particularly in the wake of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice -- that resulted in an uneven tone oscillating between dark and gritty and comedic. In many ways, the tone Suicide Squad was going for seems to have been Guardians of the Galaxy. This means James Gunn bringing his signature style is exactly what Warner Bros. wanted in the first place.

As Warner Bros. seems more inclined to follow the visions of its creative teams after the successes of Wonder WomanAquaman and Shazam!, Gunn will likely deal with much less studio interference than David Ayer, reducing the chances disastrous editing issues might hurt the final product. Hopefully, Gunn's comedic touch can bring both natural levity and a bonafide win for the restructured DC Extended Universe while also redeeming Suicide Squad for fans and critics alike..

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