15 Characters That Nearly Appeared In The Suicide Squad
Imagine The Suicide Squad with Man-Bat, Chemo, or the Rainbow Creature!
When James Gunn was fired from Marvel (briefly), he was scooped up by the higher-ups at Warner Bros. almost immediately after. Being offered the chance to direct any DC property, the acclaimed filmmaker ultimately chose to make a Suicide Squad film.
Given absolute control, Gunn was allowed to implement any character from DC's monstrously-sized roster into the story. Although a lot of fans suspected he would incorporate classic rogues, Gunn selected obscurer supervillains like Savant, Mongal, Javelin, Polka Dot Man and Blackguard.
When I first considered taking the job of writing #TheSuicideSquad I kept a file folder of characters I was considering. Here are just a few (of many) that didn't make the cut (for now!) https://t.co/xvOoEzJwMI pic.twitter.com/hwVFB9wi6W
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 3, 2021
Even though the final line-up of Task Force X boasted 16 members, there were many others that Gunn considered at one point or another. During the writing process, the GOTG director kept a file detailing dozens of DC characters, trying to find the ones who could serve the story most effectively.
Even though some of these guys were badass, iconic, or hilarious, they didn't make it into the final cut.
15. Rainbow Creature
The Suicide Squad has a lot of bizarre supervillains including a sharkman, a spot-shooting sociopath, and whatever the hell Weasel is. But the strangest character that James Gunn considered for the movie was the Rainbow Creature.
This kaleidoscopic monster is covered in four types of stripes - red shoots fire, green shoots mist, blue shoots ice, and yellow turns its victims two-dimensional. If the Rainbow Creature uses up one of its stripes, it needs time to recharge. When Batman and Robin encountered the Rainbow Creature in South America, they tricked it to use up all its powers, causing the multi-coloured ogre to die.
Despite only making a handful of appearances, the Rainbow Creature has gained a cult following amongst readers. He proved so popular, he showed up in an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
James Gunn hasn't specified why Rainbow Creature was cut but due to his ridiculous name and appearance, he was probably meant to serve as a joke character like Weasel rather than as an effective team member.