Meet your new Joker. And, while you’re about it, your new Deadshot, Rick Flag, Boomerang, Harley Quinn and Enchantress. After a few weeks of speculation and deal making, Jared Leto, Will Smith, Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney and Cara Delevingne have all officially signed on to star in David Ayer’s take on the DC villains tweam-up **Suicide Squad.
With a script by Justin Marks, the film will see an assembly of baddies and anti-heroes brought together by a secretive government group and offered a shot at redemption if they’ll go on a mission. There’s just one tiny drawback: they might not survive it.
The Joker, of course, needs little introduction, though it’ll be odd to see him introduced without his natural nemesis, Batman. Assuming Warner Bros. doesn’t have plans to stealthily introduce him in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice via some extra shooting, of course – after all, the film still doesn’t arrive until early 2016.
Smith’s Deadshot, meanwhile – who Courtney had been rumoured for – is really Floyd Lawton, a hired assassin who claims he never misses. Rick Flag (Hardy) is the son of a legendary military man called upon to lead the squad despite some seriously unstable tendencies. Robbie has taken the role of Harley Quinn, who might be familiar to Batman fans as The Joker’s female sidekick, but who has her own agenda. Courtney, meanwhile, will be Boomerang, whose skill you can probably figure out. Seen as something of a class clown by the others, he’s also been known for racism, though we doubt that will be covered in the film. Finally, there’s Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, a woman who uses her magical gifts for villainous ends.
There have been reports that Jesse Eisenberg is in talks to show up as Lex Luthor, but there’s no word on whether he has actually made a deal. And Warners is still looking for someone to play Amanda Waller, who oversees the team, with the likes of Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and even Oprah Winfrey under consideration. “The Warner Bros. roots are deep on this one,” Warner Bros. president Greg Silverman says in a statement picked up by Variety. “We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under David Ayer’s amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero.” Ayer will kick off shooting this coming April in Toronto, aiming for an August 5, 2016 release date.