Suicide Squad 2: 10 Things It Must Do Better Than The Original
Live up to its name, at least.
Suicide Squad turned out to be critic-proof, which is just as well because the reviews were largely savage. The villain-centric team-up promised much, but in the end, there was little substance to be found beneath its garish punk-rock stylistics.
That didn't stop it from making a boatload of money, though, with fans coming out in droves to support director David Ayer's vision. Many of them even signed a petition calling for Rotten Tomatoes to be shut down for hosting all of those negative reviews.
Despite all of its lesser qualities, none can deny that Suicide Squad had potential. It was the chance to deliver a subversive alternative to the likes of The Avengers and The X-Men, and the film at least managed to be a flawed version of that.
For better or worse, a sequel is being fast-tracking into development by Warner Bros and DC and whoever ends up directing it - possibly god enthusiast Mel Gibson - has a big job on their hands refining an imperfect formula.
There was, however, a good film in there somewhere, and with a few tweaks here and a massive overhaul there, Suicide Squad 2 could become the villain team-up everyone has been waiting for.
10. Establish A Higher Threat Level
One of the biggest problems with Suicide Squad is that it didn't live up to its name.
This was supposed to be an expendable group of villains, any one of whom could have bitten the dust during their high-stakes mission, but most of the gang were never in any real jeopardy until it all kicked off at the end.
Harley Quinn was always going to be fine, Katana was untouchable and the likes of Deadshot and Rick Flag felt like dead certs for survival from the off.
The only times Suicide Squad wasn't doing a disservice to its title is when Flag blew Slipknot's head off and El Diablo redeemed himself through self-sacrifice.
This is the kind of thing the fans want more of in the sequel - a greater threat with the potential to take down any member or members of the band, a higher death toll, and uncertainty surrounding who will live and die until it actually happens.