The Suicide Squad Trivia

Trivia about The Suicide Squad.

• David Ayer was set to direct the sequel but will direct the spin off Gotham City Sirens instead.
• David Ayer wanted to make an R-rated sequel.
• Margot Robbie said she would play Harley Quinn for as long as possible, as she loved playing her in Suicide Squad.
• Zak Penn wrote an new story treatment which would have been his 6th comic book movie after X2: X-Men United, Elektra, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers.
• Gavin O'Connor was in the running to direct the film but left due to the film's delayed and conflicts with Will Smith's production schedule.
• Guy Ritchie expressed interest in directing.
• Mel Gibson, Ruben Fleischer, Daniel Espinosa and Jonathan Levine were in talks to direct the sequel.
• Mel Gibson was the rumored frontrunner to direct. Coincidentally, Gibson was one of the actors considered to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's Batman and Two-Face in Batman Forever.
• Jaume Collet-Serra was considered to direct if Mel Gibson doesn't direct. Collet-Serra has now taking him out of the running to direct Jungle Cruise instead.
• David S. Goyer was rumored to direct the movie.
• Ruben Fleischer was considered to direct however after being in final negotiations to helm Venom.
• Guy Ritchie did expressed interest in directing.
• Todd Stashwick was the film's co-writer with David Bar Katz also appears on the DC TV series Gotham as Richard Sionis / The Mask.
• James Gunn was brought in to write and potentially direct the sequel following his departure from Disney. Dave Bautista has expressed interest in playing a role in the film.
• Peter Safran is quoted as saying "First of all, we don't call it Suicide Squad 2 'cause it's a total reboot, so it's The Suicide Squad and I think people should be extremely excited about it. It's everything you would hope from a James Gunn script and I think that says a lot and that promises a lot and I know that we will deliver a lot." However, with a few of the main cast reprising their characters, it is more like a soft reboot.
• Will Smith was set to return as Deadshot but left due to scheduling conflicts.
• Idris Elba was initially hired to replace Will Smith as Deadshot, but it was later decided that Elba would play a new character so Smith could return in the future.
• Isabela Merced was considered for the role of Ratcatcher.
• Rumoured members of the squad include Killer Frost, Deathstroke, Mindblogger and Bronze Tiger.
• Rumors say that Idris Elba will be playing a character known as Vigilante.
• Theories, and rumors speculate that the members of the Suicide Squad seen on set which are: Blackguard, Javelin, Captain Boomerang, Mongal, Weasel & Savant will possibly die at the beginning of the movie. And that the rest of the characters that have been confirmed, and revealed that haven't been seen on set will be on the main Suicide Squad team.
• James Gunn specifically filled The Suicide Squad with obscure and unknown villains since he felt that was more faithful to the Squad in the comics: "I wanted to stick with John Ostrander's original vision of mostly second-rate antagonists. There's an innate tragic element to supervillains who aren't even that good at being bad."
• As for how James Gunn got Sylvester Stallone to voice the role, it didn't take a whole of convincing: Gunn said to him "I wrote this role for you in The Suicide Squad. It won't take too much of your time." Stallone replied: "Oh yeah?" To which Gunn said: "Yeah. It's a big, kinda chubby, human-eating shark.", To which Stallone said: "Anything for you, brother."
• James Gunn considered The Suicide Squad the most fun film he had made, which he attributed to prioritizing creativity over perfectionism, being in the best place mentally and emotionally, having a "stupendous" cast and crew and supportive studio (Warner Bros. didn't interfere with his vision and had only given a few minor notes on it), and feeling that he was at the height of his directing abilities.
• James Gunn described the film as a 1970s war movie action comedy.
• Margot Robbie said she would play Harley Quinn for as long as possible, as she loved playing her in the DC Extended Universe.
• James Gunn wasn't refused permission to use any character he wanted. However, he purposely chose to use mostly lesser known characters. In a tweet Gunn wrote, "I considered many more well-known heroes and outlaws but I wanted to stick with Ostrander's original vision of mostly second-rate antagonists."
• Joel Kinnaman said the film was an opportunity to give his character a blank slate, and said Flag was sillier, less jaded, more naive, and funnier compared to his portrayal in the first Suicide Squad (2016).
• James Gunn described Ratcatcher 2 as the "heart of the film".
• James Gunn majorly used practical VFX in this film. He found it a relief after working on the CGI-heavy "Guardians of the Galaxy" films.
• Sean Gunn as Weasel, an anthropomorphic weasel whose portrayal in the film is based on Bill the Cat from the comic strip Bloom County and who James Gunn described as "barely more than an animal, he has no clue what is happening around him"

• James Gunn wanted Dave Bautista to play Peacemaker, but Bautista turned it down to play the lead role in Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead (2021).
• James Gunn was brought in to write and potentially direct the sequel following his original departure from Disney.
• Margot Robbie wears a new costume that features Harley's traditional red and black color palette, with James Gunn taking inspiration from the character's costume in the video game Batman: Arkham City. He wanted her jacket to have "motorcycle gang style"-writing on the back, and chose "Live fast, die clown" over other potential options "Clown AF" and "World's Best Grandpa". Gunn also removed Harley's "Rotten" facial tattoo from previous DCEU films because both he and Robbie disliked it.
• John Cena described Peacemaker as a "douchebag Captain America."
• James Gunn described the film as neither a direct sequel or a reboot of the first film, but that "it is what it is".
• Peter Safran is quoted as saying "First of all, we don't call it Suicide Squad 2 'cause it's a total reboot, so it's The Suicide Squad and I think people should be extremely excited about it. It's everything you would hope from a James Gunn script and I think that says a lot and that promises a lot and I know that we will deliver a lot." However, with a few of the main cast reprising their characters, it is more like a soft reboot.
• Idris Elba was one of the actors originally considered for the role of Floyd Lawton/Deadshot in Suicide Squad (2016) before Will Smith landed the role. Elba was subsequently cast as Deadshot in this film to replace Smith due to his unavailability. However, it was ultimately decided that Elba would portray Robert DuBois/Bloodsport, to allow Smith to return as Deadshot in the future.
• James Gunn compared this film to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) he spoke about the the two franchise's inherent differences, with: I think you know from the beginning of the first Guardians that most likely, in his heart, Peter Quill is good, Gamora is good, Rocket is good, Drax is good. While both The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy contain a wild group of comic book heroes fighting together, the teams couldn't be more different. One contains heroes that fight for good (and money), while Task Force X is made up of villains and killers. And when compared to Guardians, Gunn made it clear that the main distinction will be exactly who makes up each team. Gunn went on to speak about the group of villains in Task Force X, saying: "Some are not good people. They're bad people. It's less sentimental in that way. King Shark is much less sentimental than Groot."
• James Gunn said in several interviews that he received much more creative freedom during filming than of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies from the MCU.

• Marvel producers Kevin Feige and Louis D'Esposito visited the set during filming.
• James Gunn described Bloodsport as an unsentimental portrayal of a 1960s action hero like Steve McQueen, without the "moral repercussions" of those characters. Idris Elba was originally cast to replace Will Smith as Deadshot, but the character was changed to Bloodsport to allow Smith to reprise his role in the future; Gunn did not change the story that he had written for Elba, and just chose Bloodsport because he liked the character in the comics. The character's comic book ability to manifest weapons is adapted in the film as different gadgets and transforming weaponry that come from his costume.
• This movie was released the day after James Gunn's 55th birthday.
• Fans have asked James Gunn a number of interesting things, including which actor is his favorite when it comes to portrayals of iconic Batman villain the Joker and as it turns out, it's not just one actor to fit that bill for Gunn. In the Instagram Q&A, Gunn revealed that he was having a hard time choosing a favorite, but there were two that stuck out: Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix. "I have a hard time choosing between Ledger and Phoenix," Gunn said.
• King Shark is portrayed by Steve Agee, and voiced by Sylvester Stallone .
• In December 2020, James Gunn said editing for the film's final cut had been completed and work on the remaining visual effects, sound, and score was continuing. The film had been fully finished by early February 2021, and Gunn said Warner Bros. had not interfered with his vision for the film and had only given a few minor notes on it. He added that The Suicide Squad was the most fun film he had made, which he attributed to prioritizing creativity over perfectionism, being in the best place mentally and emotionally of his career, having a "stupendous" cast and crew and supportive studio, and feeling that he was at the height of his directing abilities with the film.
• This is the fourth collaboration between James Gunn (the director of the film) and Nathan Fillion (T.D.K.). They had previously worked together on Slither (2006), Super (2010), and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).
• Isabela Merced was considered for the role of Ratcatcher.
• When introduced, King Shark is seen reading the classical theological text "Varieties of Religious Experience" by the philosopher William James.
• Safran called The Suicide Squad a "gritty 1970s war movie combined with the brilliance of James Gunn's characters and comedy", while Gunn said it was the superhero version of The Dirty Dozen (1967). Gunn also cited The Great Escape (1963), Where Eagles Dare (1968), and Kelly's Heroes (1970) as influences.
• Todd Stashwick was the film's co-writer with David Bar Katz also appears on the DC TV series Gotham (2014) as Richard Sionis / The Mask.
• Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag was expected to return from the first film at that point, though James Gunn's script mostly featured DC Comics characters who were not in Suicide Squad. Later that month, Jai Courtney revealed that he was returning as Captain Boomerang from the first film, and said The Suicide Squad would be fun but different from the previous version. In April, Viola Davis was confirmed to be returning, and the film's creative team decided that Elba would play a new character rather than Deadshot. This decision was made, following weeks of discussions that included Gunn and Elba, to be respectful to Smith and allow him the option to return to the role in the future. Elba later stated that Gunn never intended to cast him as Deadshot.
• This will be the first Suicide Squad film to be shot digitally and in the taller 1.85:1 aspect ratio, unlike the first film, which was Filmed in Panavision (anamorphic) 2.39:1 on 35mm film. This is also the second film in the DCEU to be shot in the taller 1.85:1 aspect ratio since Justice League (2017) and the fourth film in said series to be shot, primarily, digitally since Aquaman (2018), Shazam! (2019) & Birds of Prey (2020).
• Principal photography began on September 20, 2019, at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Henry Braham served as cinematographer, after previously doing so for Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
• David Goyer was once rumored to direct the film but Goyer never came to have any negotiations in taking the helm.
• This is the second Suicide Squad film that gets an R rating after Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay and the second R rating movie in the DC Extended Universe after Birds of Prey.
• DC Comics fans couldn't help but notice that King Shark differs from his New 52 comic book origins, for which he's typically a hammerhead shark. So as he often does, director James Gunn took the time to walk curious fans through his design process for the character. According to Gunn, they actually did try to emulate King Shark's hammerhead look, but some things just look better on a comic book page than they do on camera. He explained on Twitter: "I did tests with the hammerhead design, which I love & originally thought I'd use. But having eyes on the sides far apart made it incredibly awkward shooting interactions with other people. You couldn't really see him looking at the other person & the shots tended to be too wide. But I was insistent on the dad-bod from the beginning as I didn't think King Shark would have such mammalian body structure."
• Margot Robbie shared what to expect from the upcoming return on the character: "One of the first things I said to James was, I think Harley is a catalyst of chaos. She's not necessarily your narrative center, and sometimes it's great when plot points can rest on other characters' shoulders, and she can be the thing that erupts a whole sequence of events. That's something I felt he agreed with, based on what I was reading in the script." She continued to tease her return as Harley with these words: "[In terms of] how she's changed, it's just always interesting to explore what characteristics different directors gravitate towards from the character. The common denominator is the source material, which is what I always built the character off anyway. Then she evolves in different ways under different people's direction."
• Harley Quinn sports red and black colors on her hair/clothes in this film, based on her appearance in the New 52 DC Comics.
• John Murphy's return to film composing since Kick-Ass (2010).
• Rick Flag wears a yellow T-shirt in this film, his traditional clothing from the comics.
• Filmed entirely with IMAX-certified RED cameras, this will be the first R-rated movie to be filmed entirely in IMAX.

• Steve Agee has a double role in this film: he plays the CGI stand-in for King Shark and acts as John Economos.
• Margot Robbie wears a new costume that features Harley's traditional red and black color palette, with James Gunn taking inspiration from the character's costume in the video game Batman: Arkham City. He wanted her jacket to have "motorcycle gang style"-writing on the back, and chose "Live fast, die clown" over other potential options "Clown AF" and "World's Best Grandpa". Gunn also removed Harley's "Rotten" facial tattoo from previous DCEU films because both he and Robbie disliked it.
• John Cena would wear his Peacemaker costume in interviews and at the world premiere.
• The Suicide Squad is set to release August 5, 2021. That is exactly 5 years after Suicide Squad's 2016 release date (August 5, 2016).
• James Gunn's favourite shot in the film is when King Shark rips a man in half. King Shark was CGI while his victim was a dummy with prosthetics.
• Idris Elba plays Bloodsport who is convicted for shooting Superman with a kryptonite bullet
• This is the live-action debut of the alien starfish supervillain Starro.
• Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios co-president Louis D'Esposito visited the set during filming. James Gunn took several precautions to try avoid details about the film leaking, such as referring to Elba's character in the script and on set as "Vigilante" to prevent his actual role from being revealed, and also not giving some of the actors script pages from after their character's deaths.