'Suicide Squad': Top 5 Things You Need to Know

DC’s highly anticipated “Suicide Squad” marks the cinematic return of some major villains and the live-action debut of others. There is more to the “Suicide Squad” movie than meets the eye and Eclectic Pop has narrowed down the Top 5 things you need to know about it…

#1 - The Suicide Squad has been Attempted Before

While this marks the first time the “Suicide Squad” storyline has been tackled on the big screen, the small screen beat them to the punch, years ago. The CW’s spectacular Superman series “Smallville” saw the Squad introduced for an arc in Season 10. At one point, they kidnap Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley) and Chloe (Allison Mack) later calls on them for help rescuing her friends.

The more recent TV effort to feature the Squad occurred on another CW series’; “Arrow”. An entire episode of the series’ second season was devoted to the storyline; replete with a reflective episode title. In that storyline, Diggle (David Ramsey) agrees to go on a mission with them, despite his moral consternations at the prospect. The result was one of the series’ stronger episodes.

#2 - Villains are the Heroes…Sort of

A movie featuring villains as its central protagonists is a tricky sell. However, underneath the plotline of bringing in the big bads to combat other big bads, there are two prominent and long-running creative narratives at play here. The first: ‘you must fight fire with fire’ and the second being: 'the choice between the lesser of two evils’.

If we are to believe the good guys of the DC Universe, there are worse people than those who comprise the Suicide Squad. With audiences rallying around a film about villains with as much vigor as they have the heroes; a bigger question lurks in the wake of the film's release. Are the masses as enamored by villainy as they are heroism? Or do we have an altered definition of what villainy is?

#3 - The Joker Makes his Silver Screen Return

For the first time since the late Heath Ledger donned The Joker’s makeup in director Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight”; another actor is taking on the iconic role. It has been 8 years since Ledger’s critically lauded performance in the 2008 blockbuster. It is a turn that would ultimately earn him a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Jared Leto, who takes the part over from Ledger, won that same category 6 years later in 2014 for his role in “Dallas Buyers Club”.

Fans have probably noticed that Leto’s Joker is far more bombastic, a choice probably made to aesthetically differentiate between the actors’ respective takes. While “Suicide Squad” has never been expected to capture the box office “The Dark Knight” did, it does provide something else incredibly crucial for the DC Universe. It marks the return of one of the Batman franchise’s most notorious villains.

#4 - Casting Tidbits + a Little Trivia

Tom Hardy was originally cast as Rick Flag before dropping out to pursue other projects. He was replaced by actor Joel Kinnaman with whom Hardy had previously co-starred in “Child 44”.

Scott Eastwood was originally supposed to star in a supporting role in the Nicholas Spark drama “The Choice”. He ended up transferring from that movie to take the lead in another Nicolas Sparks’ adaptation, “The Longest Ride”. He was replaced in “The Choice” by Tom Welling who played Clark Kent on the long-running Superman series "Smallville", as previously mentioned that show featured the first live-action Suicide Squad storyline. Eastwood stars as Lieutenant GQ Edwards in “Suicide Squad”.

Jared Leto won his Oscar in 2014, the same year “The Wolf of Wall Street” starring Margot Robbie was up for a myriad of awards. Leto and his “Dallas Buyers Club” co-star, Matthew McConaughey won both of their nominated categories; Supporting and Lead, respectively. By doing so, they beat out both of Robbie’s “Wolf of Wall Street” co-stars: Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio.

“Suicide Squad” marks the film debut of the character Katana and her portrayer, actress Karen Fukuhara. Katana made her live-action debut on the third season of "Arrow" where she was portrayed by Rila Fukushima. "Arrow" was Fukushima's second time playing a comic book character. She previously starred in "The Wolverine" as Yukio.

#5 – Margot Robbie is a Strong Contender to Steal the Show

Ever since Margot Robbie burst onto the silver screen with her star-making turn in the Oscar-nominated comedy "The Wolf of Wall Street", the Australian actress has been awaiting a movie that would cement the buzz surrounding her and given the early response to her performance from the trailer alone, there is every reason to believe she has found it with “Suicide Squad”. Robbie, the very definition of a scene stealer, has proven she can hold her own against the silver screen’s biggest stars and not get lost in the shuffle. In “Suicide Squad” she will bring the character of Harley Quinn to life for the first time in the live-action flesh and as the girlfriend of The Joker (Jared Leto), you can bet Quinn will give Robbie some larger than life moments to play. After starring in "The Wolf of Wall Street", there is every reason to believe can handle it.