Despite receiving negative reviews, 2016's Suicide Squad was a massive financial success, raking in more than $746 million worldwide. Warner Bros. is now set to release The Suicide Squad, a reboot/sequel from Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.
Here's what we know so far about The Suicide Squad, including the story, release date and more.
What Is The Suicide Squad's Story?
In Suicide Squad, the titular team of supervillains set about taking down Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), the reincarnated soul of a mummified sorcerer set on destroying the world. After successfully completing their mission, Joker (Jared Leto) broke Harley Quinn out of prison, and Batman (Ben Affleck) threatened to shut Task Force X down.
Following that film, Suicide Squad's Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) teamed up with Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) for Birds of Prey. In that movie, Harley and the titular vigilantes took down Roman Sionis/Black Mask (Ewan McGregor), with the Clown Princess of Crime continuing on her villainous ways at the end. At some point between the films, Harley and Joker also broke up. While much of Birds of Prey dealt with Harley learning to become her own person after ending things with the Joker, Robbie says her character will be completely free from the Clown Prince of Crime's influence in The Suicide Squad.
The Suicide Squad is expected to majorly veer away from the events of the first film. There will also be a ton of new additions to the cast of characters, though Gunn has warned viewers to not get "too attached" to any particular member of the team. The Suicide Squad will also tie in to a spin-off centered on Peacemaker. The movie will also have at least one post-credits scene.
You can read the official synopsis for the film below:
Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.
Who Is In The Suicide Squad's Cast and Crew?
Several characters from the original film will appear in The Suicide Squad. In addition to Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney will reprise his role as Captain Boomerang alongside Viola Davis, who plays Task Force X boss Amanda Waller, and Joel Kinnaman as Colonel Rick Flag. Leto is not expected to return as the Joker.
New additions include John Cena as Peacemaker, Sylvester Stallone as the voice of King Shark, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Michael Rooker as Savant, Alice Braga as Sol Soria, Pete Davidson as Richard Hertz/Blackguard, Nathan Fillion as Floyd Belkin/T.D.K., Sean Gunn as Weasel, Flula Borg as Javelin, Mayling Ng as Mongal and Idris Elba as Robert DuBois/Bloodsport.
Does The Suicide Squad Have a Trailer?
Several trailers for The Suicide Squad have been released, some of which are age-restricted due to the movie's R-rating. The footage teases the squad in action as well as the addition of Starro, a villain created in 1960 by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky for Brave and the Bold #28.
The second trailer for the film, which you can see below, highlights Bloodsport's backstory, with the villain having been arrested for shooting Superman with a Kryptonite bullet. The footage also makes clear that Bloodsport has a daughter with whom he has a relationship that will be important to the film.
What Is The Suicide Squad's Release Date?
Filming for The Suicide Squad began on September 20, 2019, at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, and wrapped on February 28, 2020. While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused many major movies to experience delays, The Suicide Squad will release on Aug. 6 (July 30 in the UK), though early showings will start on Aug. 5. The Suicide Squad, which runs 132 minutes, will release simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. In the week prior to the movie's release, the review embargoed lifted and a flood of positive reviews came in.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.