The Suicide Squad director James Gunn revealed why he never wanted to include Jared Leto's Joker in his new film -- and he has a very good reason why.
"I just don’t know why Joker would be in the Suicide Squad," Gunn told New York Times. "He wouldn’t be helpful in that type of war situation." Given the character's chaotic and street-level nature, and inability to play well with others, it's not surprising why Gunn would want to avoid the Joker. His larger-than-life personality would also pull away from the many other villains featured in the film, something Gunn spoke more about.
Without Will Smith's Deadshot in the film due to scheduling conflicts, new protagonists had to step up, including Harley Quinn and Ratcatcher 2. But ultimately, Gunn said Idris Elba's Bloodsport is the focal point.
"I really wanted to work with Idris," Gunn said. "It is a multi-protagonist film. We go off for a while with Margot, and Daniela [Melchior, who plays Ratcatcher 2] is the heart of the film in a lot of ways. But if there’s one protagonist, it’s Idris. And I wanted somebody who had that gruff, Unforgiven-type feeling about him. This guy who had been reduced from being a bigshot supervillain — he took Superman out of the sky — who is now scraping gum off the floor at the beginning of the movie. He absolutely doesn’t want any part of it — he just has accepted this is his life. And I just think that character is Idris Elba."
While Leto's time as Joker seems to have come to an end -- unless Zack Snyder is allowed to make his subsequent Justice League films -- the door appears to still be open for Smith's return as Deadshot. Which new characters will have a future on the big and small screen, however, is up in the air, as Gunn and the marketing for the film have repeatedly stressed that any DC villain from the new film can die.
Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad stars a sprawling cast as some of DC's most obscure villains. Idris Elba, Margot Robbie and more lead the war-themed film, which arrives in theaters and on HBO Max Aug. 6.
Source: New York Times