It’s quite interesting that the first Suicide Squad movie had such trouble after it tried too hard to be like James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Turns out they should have gotten James Gunn to do it in the first place! The first trailer for his version, the in-continuity-but-maybe-not The Suicide Squad has dropped and in just three minutes it showcases a lot of what we’re hoping we get: bad language, gore, and some sweet comic book goodness. Oh, and a color palate that isn’t just puke green. Plus Steely Dan music? We’re in!
The trailer begins with a cargo van containing some of our new members of the Suicide Squad. We’ve got Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman); Peacemaker (John Cena); and Bloodsport (Idris Elba) arguing about a plan. In the background we can see King Shark (Steve Agee), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), and just off to the right you can see the side of the Thinker (Peter Capaldi)’s head. We also see Ratcatcher II (Daniela Melchior) looking through binoculars. They’re on a mission to rescue Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), but turns out she doesn’t need rescuing. She’s touched by the gesture, at any rate. And of course we have Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) back calling the shots.
Then we cut to the recruitment of some new characters. We meet Savant (Michael Rooker), who apparently can throw a ball real good. We see two seconds of Weasel (Sean Gunn). In the wide shot of the crew walking in front of the American flag (lol) we see some of the others: returning favorite Boomerang (Jai Courtney); Mongal (Mayling Ng); Blackguard (Peter Davidson); Javelin (Flula Borg). We later get T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion) drinking a Mr. Pibb. There are a lot of people involved here, friends.
DC Comics/Warner Bros
While we don’t get a full idea of what the mission will be, we do get a funny scene in which Flag and Bloodsport threaten that if the Thinker has given them any false information, he dies. Then Harley comes in and says if they find out he has personalized license plates or if he coughs without covering his mouth, he also dies. But not really, though always cover your mouth. A good bit of advice there. The scheme seems to have something to do with taking out a military dictator. Which, you know what? Great.
This trailer is already setting up what looks to be an ongoing comedic rivalry in the movie between Peacemaker and Bloodsport. Peacemaker being the goody two-shoes who would do anything for his country. That, of course, includes eating a beach full of dicks if asked. Admirable. It also seems like Bloodsport and Ratcatcher II are going to have a bond, which will be nice as well.
DC Comics/Warner Bros
After a quick-cut montage of the Skwad partying at a nightclub and causing lots of destruction, we also quickly see SolSoria (Alice Braga) brandishing a shotgun. The trailer culminates in the arrival of none other than Starro, the giant, mind-controlling alien starfish. Canonically, Starro was the very first foe the original Justice League faced in their eponymous comic, but he’s much more in the Suicide Squad’s wheelhouse these days.
This sure looks like a hell of a lot of fun. Although we hope Polka-Dot Man doesn’t get his death wish. Poor guy. The Suicide Squad will hit theaters and HBO Max August 6.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
