In the DC FanDome On Saturday, director James Gunn announced who is playing which villain in the 2021 film, and gave a teaser with footage and behind-the-scenes insights into the action-packed film.
As it turns out, Idris Elba plays Bloodsport. Wrestler actor John Cena plays Peacemaker. Long-time Gunn buddy Nathan Fillion plays TDK. and Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson plays Blackguard. Some of the roles were already known, including Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn; Viola Davis as Amanda Waller; Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag; and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang.
And if you thought the Avengers had a huge group, buckle up because The Suicide Squad is huge. Here is the full list of characters Gunn shared on Twitter:
Idris Elba plays Bloodsport
Margot Robbie plays Harley Quinn
Viola Davis plays Amanda Waller
Sean Gunn plays weasel
Pete Davidson plays Blackguard
Daniela Melchior plays Ratcatcher 2
Joel Kinnaman plays Colonel Rick Flag
Nathan Fillion plays TDK
Jai Courtney plays Captain Boomerang
Steve Agee plays King Shark and John Economos on the set
Mayling Ng plays Mongal
David Dastmalchian plays Polka-Dot Man
Alice Braga plays Sol Soria
John Cena plays peacemaker
Juan Diego Botto plays General President Silvio Luna
Peter Capaldi plays the thinker
Michael Rooker plays Savant
Flula Borg plays spear
Joaquín Cosío is Mayor General Mateo Suarez
Jennifer Holland plays Emilia Harcourt
Storm Reid plays Tyla
Gunn said during the panel that The Suicide Squad was "by far the most fun I have ever had making a movie," which may have surprised some fans who were expecting the Guardians of the Galaxy films to take this place would take. Gunn also praised the extensive special effects, many of which were shown on a roll of video that mixed the footage behind the scenes. The performers took part in a laughing quiz game, and Gunn answered questions submitted by fans. He was very excited to be writing for Harley Quinn, he said, mentioning that the character had a "messy trickster god" element to it
He also said fans shouldn't fear he wasn't given a free hand to make the movie he wanted and tweeted it was "100%, no interference, ME with no limits".
I can confirm #TheSuicideSquad is 100%, no interference, ME with no limits, and I can't wait for you to take a look #DCFanDome. (Yes, I pimp FanDome a lot, but that's because I know how exciting it will be - for my film and other things too! 😬) https://t.co/CClwKIi5nS
- James Gunn (@JamesGunn) 4th August 2020
Gunn wrote and directed the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films for Marvel, but switched to The Suicide Squad after Marvel briefly fired him for non-colored tweets. Producer Peter Safran said The Suicide Squad is not a direct sequel to the original 2016 film Suicide Squad, although there are numerous recurring characters played by the same actors. The similarity of the titles is confusing, but the second film uses "The" in its title.
After the panel, Gunn tweeted two very similar posters from DC FanDome, inviting fans to spot the differences.