The superhero blockbuster Suicide Squad may have not had the best reviews when it was released in 2016, but that’s not stopping the DC Extended Universe from digging deeper into the adventures of the gang of misfits. In the forthcoming sequel (well kind of), a mostly new team of reluctant heroes has gathered to save the world (again), and their adventure promises nothing but pandemonium.
Under the direction of heartless government agent Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) and her second-in-command Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Task Force X wrangled up some of the world’s most dangerous villains to join a secret team aimed at combating metahuman threats to society. The team’s first mission brought together baddies like Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Deadshot (Will Smith), and El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) in a deadly battle against an ancient evil force occupying the body of archaeologist Dr. June Moone (Cara Delevingne).
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Some time later, Waller has now reconvened the self-professed Suicide Squad for another dangerous mission, this time to decimate the Nazi-era prison and laboratory Jotunheim. Due to a series of unfortunate events that leave her team slimmer than usual, Waller is forced to recruit (read: blackmail) a host of brand new members to join Colonel Flag and Harley Quinn for the life-threatening operation, but the new guys are...odd, to say the least.
World-famous mercenary Bloodsport (Idris Elba) comes onboard after being promised an opportunity to reunite with his young daughter. And he's probably the most normal of the band of supervillains; there's also trigger-happy patriot Peacemaker (John Cena), paranoid criminal Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), an anthrophomorphic weasel (played by Sean Gunn), and a talking humanoid shark with a penchant for eating people alive (voiced by Sylvester Stallone). I told you it was going to get weird.
The Suicide Squad already looks like a redirection from the dark aesthetics of other DCEU projects like the Zac Snyder cut of Justice League — the new trailer's colorful nature no doubt a stylistic choice of controversial director James Gunn. Gunn has a particular vibe to him, with projects like the Guardians of the Galaxy series echoing his tendency towards zany plots and characters with big action sequences.
Will a slew of fascinating new characters, a big budget, and a new director at the helm, will the Suicide Squad sequel be able to shake off the original film's bad rep and help reshape the DCEU's disjointed canon? Find out when The Suicide Squad hits theaters (and HBO Max) on August 6, 2021.