Announced as the movie to follow Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in Warner Bros. burgeoning DC Cinematic Universe, all eyes have been on David Ayers Suicide Squad (set for release August 5th 2016) lately, especially with a cast of A-listers being wooed for a place on the team of government backed villains turned anti-heroes. Well, the speculation can be put to rest, now that the full cast has been officially announced. Here's a break down of who's playing who.
Will Smith will be taking on what is said to one of the three main leads as Deadshot, one of the DC Universe's foremost assassins. Claiming to "never miss", Deadshot is a master marksman, favouring a pair of wrist mounted silenced pistols. Originally introduced as a villain, recent years have seen him flipping back and forth between bad guy and anti-hero, depending on the job he has been hired to do. While Smith's casting will no doubt have a small group of fanboys up in arms (the character is white in the comics. Yes, some people still consider that a problem), he is perfect as both a box office draw, and an actor who can perfectly portray these shades of grey.
Having previously played Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, Tom Hardy is doing what is known in the industry as "pulling a Chris Evans", playing two separate characters from the same comics universe. This time round he is playing Rick Flag. Now, there has been two Rick Flag. The first one to appear was a member of the original Suicide Squad, an elite unit of soldiers in World War II, later joining the first incarnation of the team as it is now, Task Force X. After several years, his role was taken over by his son, Rick Flag Jr., who became an enemy of the U.S. government, and the squad itself, his growing mental instability making him go to extreme lengths to stop the existence of the squad going public. It hasn't been made official, but, unless the movie will feature flash backs to World War II, good money is on Hardy playing Rick Flag Jr.
Jared Leto is The Joker. That is all.
The Wolf of Wall Street's Margot Robbie will be taking on the role of The Joker's girlfriend/punching bag Harley Quinn. A fan favorite character since her introduction in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, Harley Quinn was The Joker's former psychiatrist twisted by his machinations to fall in love with him. She soon made the jump to the comics (the first character to do this), and her profile has continued to rise since her introduction, becoming a major part of the Batman mythos, and an extremely popular and loved character in her own right. Robbie certainly has the look, but admittedly we've only seen her in one major role, so it we'll have to wait and see if she can pull off the characters unique brand of insanity.
An important part of The Flash's rogues gallery (we could see him tackle Ezra Miller in The Flash due out in 2018), Jai Courtney (A Good Day to Die Hard) will be taking on the role of Boomerang (formerly Captain Boomerang), usually a joke of a villain who uses a variety of boomerangs (ranging from explosive to razor sharp) to pull off his crimes. Boomerang is usually seen as the Suicide Squad class clown, only surviving by being manipulative or cowardly. Considering Courtney's age, he could in fact be playing Boomerang's son, who also took on the mantle. Couple this with Hardy possibly playing Rick Flag Jr., it would add an interesting legacy aspect to the movie, an aspect that is incredibly important to the entire DC Universe.
Next seen as mermaid in Pan, Cara Delevingne has been cast as The Enchantress, a sometimes good/sometimes evil sourceress bonded to a normal girl, June Moore. She was drafted into the Suicide Squad as a means of keeping her villainous side in check, which didn't always work as The Enchantress's evil nature would overcome the innocent June. This conflict should prove an interesting sub plot, but with the team seeming extremely grounded, a powerful magical character like the The Enchantress does seem a bit out of place.
