The Suicide Squad Doesn’t Feel Like a Sequel at All According to Returning Star Joel Kinnaman
The DCEU has not had a very smooth sailing so far. Most of the movies in the franchise that started out so confidently with Man of Steel have been recast, rebooted, or straight-up eliminated from the lineup in less than a decade. Joel Kinnaman, who will be reprising his role as Rick Flag from David Ayer’s 2016 film Suicide Squad in the upcoming The Suicide Squad helmed by James Gunn, recently confirmed that the new film is more of a reboot than a sequel.
“With James Gunn, it’s a whole new universe. It’s a completely different thing. We kinda all just started with a blank slate…It doesn’t feel like we’re doing a sequel in any way. It’s a strange kinda middle ground of a reboot. Something in between there… I don’t think [Gunn] had to compromise one iota of his vision. He really got to do exactly what he wanted. And it’s definitely going to be the biggest budget R-rated movie that’s ever been made. And it’s heavily R-rated and super silly. It’s really like childish, childish humor and it also finds these profound moments where you get really emotionally moved. And then it’s super violent and then it’s really silly again…Every character is just so ridiculous.”
While Joel Kinnaman appears very happy with Gunn’s fresh take on the franchise, the original Suicide Squad is far from dead and buried. David Ayer has long alleged that his vision for the movie was crushed under the weight of expectations from Warner Bros. execs, who heavily edited his film to make it less somber and more comedic. Fans have rallied behind the filmmaker with calls to #ReleasetheAyerCut. Kinnaman himself expressed interest in seeing Ayer’s original vision for his film realized.
“You always wanna see the filmmaker’s cut, you know? It’s always a shame when the filmmaker’s vision doesn’t make it to the cinema. Of course, there’s always going to be compromise. I find it’s the bigger the budget, the bigger the compromise. Usually that’s the case. I’m sure [Ayer’s cut] would be much more interesting. David’s take on the Joker was really interesting and that didn’t really come out in the movie that we saw.”
It will be interesting to see if Gunn’s upcoming movie will help the audiences forget about Ayer’s film, or whether the “Ayer Cut” will also someday follow Zack Snyder’s Justice League to a triumphant HBO Max debut.
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, Steve Agee as King Shark, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Nathan Fillion as TDK, Sean Gunn as Weasel, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, John Cena as Peacemaker, Taika Waititi and Storm Reid. The film arrives in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6. This comes from The Playlist.
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