Update: Sorry King Shark fans, but according to Michael Rooker himself this story is in fact… untrue as the actor went to Instagram to proclaim that the original report was incorrect in his very own Rooker-ish way!
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is stacking up to be one of the most intriguing comic book flicks on the increasingly saturated superhero slate. According to sources at The Wrap, Guardians of the Galaxy alum and longtime Gunn collaborator Michael Rooker is currently in talks to play the iconic and very strange DC supervillain, King Shark.
Created by Karl Kesel, King Shark first appeared in 1994’s Superboy #4. The fact that King Shark is a product of the mid-1990s makes a lot of sense seeing as there isn’t really anything more extreme than a muscly humanoid shark. And that is exactly what King Shark is, though the type of shark has shifted from Great White to Hammer Head and back again throughout his comic book history. This serial killer who stalked the streets of Hawaii has been a member of organizations like the Secret Six, the Secret Society of Super-Villains, as well as the Suicide Squad in the comics. Fans of the CW series The Flash will already be familiar with the villain who has played a pretty large role in the hit superhero show.
Gunn’s film is seemingly going to be a reboot of the Suicide Squad series, but the fact that Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, and Jai Courtney are reprising their roles from the critically maligned 2016 movie means it’s likely going to have some connection to Ed Hardy-jeans-come-to-life vision of David Ayer’s controversial comic book flick. If Rooker joins the sequel, then he would be working alongside the aforementioned originals, as well as new additions David Dastmalchian (Polka-Dot Man), Idris Elba (originally Deadshot, but now a new character), and Daniela Melchior (Ratcatcher). It’s a genius bit of casting which would see two MCU stars moving over to their distinguished competition.
Rooker has proven time and time again that he’s one of the best actors working and the idea of him bringing his unique brand of brutality to King Shark seems too good to be true. It also seems like a sweetly shady nod at his role in GOTG as the shark fin-headed alien who raised Peter Quill, which is just delicious.
Images: DC Comics, Marvel, Disney