5 Ways Suicide Squad Has Changed Since It Was Announced
Not quite what you expected, is it?
We're already four superhero movies deep into 2016, which in any other year would be more than your lot, but we've still got two more to come before December (now known as Star Wars Month™). If you're feeling at all fatigued (and, to be honest, I can't blame you), don't worry - the next one's a little different.
Suicide Squad, DC's sadistically comic supervillain forced-team-up hits in less that two months and it's hard to not get a little bit giddy; not only does it offer a nice switch up from the comic book movie status quo (three films this year were team-splitting versus pictures), but it looks great, with a bevvy of exciting trailers that suggest it's mad-cap director may have just got it right.
It's been a long journey to the big screen for Task Force X. A film's been in development since 2008 (does that mean it was originally conceived as spinning off from The Dark Knight Trilogy?), and every since director David Ayer came on board in September 2014 it's been a story of constant twists and turns. There's been some major, public shifts in this production, so, as the marketing campaign really begins to ramp up, let's look back over how the project's changed over the past couple of years.
5. Rick Flagg Was Recast
It wasn't long after David Ayer was brought onto the project that the first casting announcement was made, something that really boosted the stock of the film. There was Jared Leto as Joker, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn (both heavily rumoured before), Will Smith as Deadshot, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Jai Courtney as Boomerang and, most intriguing of all, Tom Hardy as Rick Flagg. Hardy's a scorching hot ticket at the moment, with a general gravitas and astute film choice making him one of the most in-demand actors around, so getting him in a lead role seemed to be Warner saying "we got this".
Alas, because shooting on The Revenant overran (you may have heard that movie had a bit of a troubled production), Hardy was forced to drop out (he did state the script was "alley" though). Jake Gyllenhaal was reportedly offered the role (he's worked with Ayer previously on End Of Watch), but turned it down, leaving it open for Joel Kinnaman.
If you're still worried about the star of the already forgotten RoboCop reboot was taking a lead role, you shouldn't be; Kinnaman really showed his talents as charismatic manipular Conway in House Of Cards, where he managed to successfully go toe-to-toe with Kevin Spacey. Not a bad consolation casting at all.