James Gunn has confirmed Sylvester Stallone is playing King Shark in his R-rated DC Extended Universe film The Suicide Squad.Stallone broke the news on his Twitter account, writing "OK shark coming your way! The new THE SUCIDE SQUAD Is thundering your way! August 8!" Gunn then responded to Stallone's tweet with King Shark's poster for The Suicide Squad, writing "In case you're wondering who that shark is... [Sylvester Stallone is] King Shark."
Created by Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel, King Shark/Nanaue first appeared in Oct. 1994's Superboy #0. A humanoid shark, the DC Comics super-villain made his live-action debut on The CW's The Flash TV series, voiced by David Hayter. More recently, Ron Funches has lent his vocals to King Shark on the DC Universe/HBO Max animated Harley Quinn series. The latter's version of the character is more mild-mannered and emotionally sensitive than other depictions, yet retains his voracious appetite.
Prior to The Suicide Squad, Stallone and Gunn collaborated on 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, in which Stallone played a small role as the Ravager Stakar Ogord. The red band trailer for Gunn's DCEU film offers a preview of Stallone's King Shark, including a moment in which he literally eats an entire person. This is juxtaposed with a more comedic scene in which Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) debriefs Task Force X on their mission, before asking if they have any questions. King Shark responds by saying "Hand!" while pointing at his raised hand. "Yes, that is your hand, very good," Waller replies.
The full synopsis for The Suicide Squad reads,
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.
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, with Steve Agee, Taika Waititi and Storm Reid. The film arrives in theaters and on HBO Max Aug. 6.
Source: Twitter