The Suicide Squad writer/director James Gunn revealed the scene where King Shark rips a person in half was, in part, shot practically.
“I wanted to have that feeling of those 1960s war caper films, so I wanted these big sets,” Gunn explained to Total Film. “I always end up spending money on CG sets when I could have built sets and saved money, so I was like, ‘Let’s just build the biggest sets Warner Bros has ever had!’ I just liked the practical feel. There’s always this tendency on modern movies to go, ‘Oh, let’s just do it CG when King Shark rips the man in half.’ I’m like, ‘No, it doesn’t need to be a 100 per cent CG shot, let’s rip a real guy... [Laughs] Let’s rip a mannequin in half with blood and guts going out of him, and then we’ll put the shark in.’ Which is what we did. It makes for a much more magical experience for an audience member.”
Created by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel, the humanoid shark Nanaue/King Shark first appeared in Oct. 1994's Superboy #0 and is voiced by Sylvester Stallone in The Suicide Squad. He made his live-action debut on The CW's The Flash TV series and is voiced by Ron Funches on DC Universe/HBO Max's animated series Harley Quinn. Earlier this year, Funches poked fun at Stallone's King Shark online after he was spotted posing for photos at Mar-a-Lago with Donald Trump.
In the same interview, Gunn likened The Suicide Squad to the 1967 action/adventure classic The Dirty Dozen, stating, "I’ve always loved tales of redemption of bad characters who become good, or find some hint of goodness in themselves." Gunn also reiterated the film was heavily influenced by John Ostrander's comic book stories about The Suicide Squad in the 1980s. This led to Ostrander playing a supporting role as Dr. Fitzgibbon in the movie, who briefly appears in The Suicide Squad's red-band trailer.
Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad stars Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, Michael Rooker as Savant, Flula Borg as Javelin, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Mayling NG as Mongal, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, Alice Braga as Solsoria, Sylvester Stallone as King Shark, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Nathan Fillion as TDK, Sean Gunn as Weasel, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, John Cena as Peacemaker and Steve Agee, Taika Waititi and Storm Reid. The film arrives in theaters and on HBO Max Aug. 6.
Source Total Film, via GamesRadar+