60 Fun Facts About Suicide Squad

Who wrote and directed the 2016 Suicide Squad?

He later disowned the theatrical cut, calling the film his biggest Hollywood heartbreak.

Suicide Squad was which numbered installment in the DC Extended Universe?

It followed Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and opens in the aftermath of Superman's death.

What is the official name of the team Amanda Waller assembles?

Waller sells it to the government as a response team for metahuman threats after Superman's death.

How does Waller keep the squad members under control?

Flag proves the bombs are real by detonating the first deserter's the moment he runs.

What is the name of the prison the squad members are recruited from?

The director makes a cameo as one of its officers.

Dr. June Moone, the archaeologist possessed by Enchantress, is played by whom?

Delevingne described Moone as an adventure-seeker and Enchantress as a feral being.

What does Waller use to control Enchantress?

Enchantress spends the film trying to get it back, and Flag finally crushes it to kill her.

Which fictional metropolis does Enchantress conquer?

She turns its people into monsters and summons her brother there to destroy mankind.

What is the name of Enchantress's brother?

He possesses the body of a businessman to gain a physical form; Alain Chanoine plays him.

Which squad member is killed early on when he tries to escape, proving the bombs are real?

Boomerang talks him into running because he thinks the bombs are a bluff, then watches the proof.

What is Deadshot's real name?

A hitman who wants to reunite with his daughter Zoe, he is played by Will Smith.

Will Smith chose Suicide Squad over appearing in which sequel that was offered at the same time?

He said it was about going forward rather than clinging and clawing backwards.

Who plays the Joker?

Ryan Gosling was originally sought for the part; Leto stayed in character so completely that Will Smith said he never met him.

Which musician did the actor playing the Joker cite as an influence on the character?

He also listened to 1920s gospel music, read about shamanism and drew on the look of filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Who added the Joker's tattoos, believing they gave the character a modern gangster look?

The 'damaged' forehead tattoo became the most mocked design choice in the film's marketing.

What was Harley Quinn's profession before the Joker got to her?

Dr. Harleen Quinzel's origin as the Joker's therapist comes from Batman: The Animated Series, not the comics.

Which actress was considered for Harley Quinn before Margot Robbie was cast?

Robbie's performance was the most praised element of the film and earned her a spin-off in 2020.

Which actor was originally cast as Rick Flag but dropped out over a scheduling clash with The Revenant?

Jake Gyllenhaal was then offered the part and declined.

Who plays Rick Flag in the finished film?

Kinnaman later said the first 40 minutes were great and then conflicting visions took over.

Who plays Amanda Waller?

The studio also considered Octavia Spencer and Oprah Winfrey; Davis's casting was revealed at the 87th Academy Awards.

What is the real name of the boomerang-throwing Australian thief?

Jai Courtney said Ayer's first instruction was to find his inner dirtbag.

What is the name of Katana's sword, which traps the souls of its victims?

It holds her husband's soul, which is why she is the only squad member with no bomb and no criminal record.

Who plays Katana?

She went on to play Kimiko in The Boys.

What is the real name of the fire-wielding former Los Angeles gang member?

A former Los Angeles gang member, he keeps his flame powers to a single flicker as penance for his family's deaths.

Which squad member sacrifices himself in the finale to hold Enchantress's brother in place for the bomb?

In Ayer's original cut he would have survived.

Who plays Killer Croc?

He described the character as a cannibal with rage issues; his makeup team won the film its Oscar.

Which squad member is the only one denied a reward and detained again at the end?

Everyone else gets ten years off their sentence and a personal request granted.

Whom does Waller meet in the mid-credits scene?

He trades protection for her metahuman files and hints that he knows exactly who she is dealing with by telling her to stop working late.

Which Justice League villain was originally the power behind Enchantress before that plot was scrapped?

Removing him gave Ayer six weeks to rewrite the script, which was later misreported as him writing the whole thing in six weeks.

How did Ayer describe the film to Empire?

Two years earlier the animated Batman: Assault on Arkham had already used a similar set-up.

In which city did principal photography begin in April 2015?

Additional filming took place in Chicago before the shoot wrapped on August 28, 2015.

Who wrote the 2016 reshoots that lightened the film's tone?

They reportedly cost as much as $22 million and included an almost entirely new third act.

Roughly how much were the film's reshoots reported to have cost?

Typical additional photography costs $6 to $10 million; this was several times that.

Fans of Ayer's version say the theatrical cut was taken from him and handed to whom?

Trailer Park, Inc. had made the film's well-received teaser, and the studio wanted the whole film to feel like it.

Who composed the score for Suicide Squad?

Price had worked with Ayer on Fury; Ayer's own cut used only that score with no pop songs.

Which band recorded "Heathens", the lead single from the soundtrack?

Its music video was set in a prison and cut with footage from the film.

Which Queen song did Panic! at the Disco cover for the soundtrack?

It was one of four promotional singles released in the days before the film opened.

Which Academy Award did Suicide Squad win?

It remains the only DC Extended Universe film to win an Oscar.

What was the film's approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes?

Audiences were kinder, giving it a B+ CinemaScore, and it still set August box office records.

What was the film's opening weekend gross in the U.S. and Canada, an August record at the time?

It broke the August record set by Guardians of the Galaxy and Will Smith's own career best from I Am Legend.

Roughly how much did Suicide Squad gross worldwide?

It never got a release in China, which Forbes reckoned cost it a shot at matching Deadpool's total.

Which country never gave Suicide Squad a release date, according to The Hollywood Reporter?

Batman v Superman had enjoyed a day-and-date release there, which helped it to a bigger worldwide opening.

Which horror film ended Suicide Squad's three-week run at number one in North America?

Its second-weekend drop of 67% was the second-steepest of that summer, behind only Warcraft.

Which anime kept Suicide Squad out of first place when it opened in Japan?

Japan was the film's final market, opening on September 9, 2016.

Which spin-off film followed Suicide Squad in 2020, with Margot Robbie's Harley on the loose in Gotham?

Cathy Yan directed it from a script by Christina Hodson; Ayer's Gotham City Sirens was shelved in its favour.

Who directed the 2021 sequel The Suicide Squad after being fired by Marvel Studios?

Unlike the PG-13 original, his sequel was rated R and led to the Peacemaker series starring John Cena.

In The Suicide Squad (2021), the team is sent to which fictional South American island nation?

Their mission is to destroy Jötunheim, a Nazi-era laboratory housing 'Project Starfish'.

What is the giant alien villain of The Suicide Squad, kept in the Jötunheim laboratory?

The starfish creature spawns smaller copies that latch onto faces and control bodies.

Which director was first attached to the sequel before James Gunn took over?

Gunn was hired after Disney temporarily fired him from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Which comic writer's 1980s Suicide Squad run did Gunn cite as inspiration?

Gunn also drew on war films, describing each squad member as inspired by a different film genre.

Besides Atlanta, The Suicide Squad filmed in Porto, Portugal, and which Panamanian city?

Filming ran from September 2019 to February 2020, just before the pandemic.

On which streaming service was The Suicide Squad released the same day as US cinemas in August 2021?

The simultaneous release, plus COVID-19, was blamed for its $169 million gross against a $185 million budget.

Who plays Bloodsport, the mercenary jailed for shooting Superman with a Kryptonite bullet?

Gunn likened his double act with Harley to Abbott and Costello, with Harley as Costello.

Gunn told John Cena to play Peacemaker like a 'douchey, bro-y' version of which hero?

Cena had first approached the role as a Full Metal Jacket-style drill sergeant.

Who voices King Shark in The Suicide Squad?

Gunn's longtime friend Steve Agee developed the character's portrayal on set, with the shark created in visual effects.

Gunn called which squad member 'the dumbest DC character of all time' and set out to make him tragic?

David Dastmalchian plays him; an interdimensional virus leaves acid polka dots under his skin.

Which Doctor Who actor plays the Thinker, Project Starfish's lead scientist?

His character, Gaius Grieves, is killed by the escaped alien after the laboratory falls.

Which squad member does Waller execute with a neck bomb in the opening scene for deserting?

Michael Rooker's hand-to-hand expert never gets past the beach; the first team was a deliberate decoy.

Which first-team member is revealed in the mid-credits scene to have survived the beach?

Most of the decoy first team were slaughtered on the beach by the island's military.

Which animated series spun off from The Suicide Squad in 2024?

A live-action spin-off about John Cena's character arrived first in 2022, and a Waller series is in development.