Top 10 Suicide Squad Movie Facts

The relatively young DC cinematic universe has it’s work cut out for it in distinguishing itself from its Marvel counterpart. But if Suicide Squad is a hit, it’ll truly be breaking new CBM ground. Marvel has released team up films like “The Avengers” and “Captain America: Civil War”. They’ve even given us a team of outlaws in “Guardians of the Galaxy”, but they were more anti-heroes than villains. Sony has discussed a “Sinister Six” movie, and Fox has toyed with a “Hellfire Club” film, but “Suicide Squad” officially takes the title of being the first villain-centric comic book team-up film, with its main roster of characters coming straight from the rogues gallery.
 

In keeping with their contemporary comic book counterparts, these bad guys are kept on short leash. Well… technically they have a significant amount of mobility… because quite frankly, their job description involves a lot running, jumping, shooting and impressive feats of strength. But thanks to a microbomb implanted in each member of the Suicide Squad, Amanda Waller has the ability to end lives of Squad members with the click of a button. That’s about the most effective leash you can ask for if you’re trying to keep tabs on this band of career criminals and psychopaths. Suicide Squad instructions read as follows – kill, but only the people we tell you to… or be killed. 

In an interview with Empire Magazine, Zack Snyder revealed that most members of the Suicide Squad have something in common apart from being extremely dangerous criminals… they have Batman to thank for their current stay in Belle Reve prison. It’s unclear as to how much screen time the Dark Knight will get in this villain-centric flick, but the first trailer revealed that he’ll be interacting with the Joker, or at least taking a ride on the hood of Joker’s sports car. It’s hard to imagine the Caped Crusader being okay with Amanda Waller letting criminals out of prison, which has led to speculation that we’ll most likely see him trading words with the brains behind the Suicide Squad as well.

               
The teaser trailer for “Suicide Squad” took Comic Con, and the world by storm in 2015. And Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn was central to this eerie and captivating first peek. If this “first look” and subsequent trailers have made fans hopeful of one thing… it’s that this Harley Quinn will not disappoint. It’s hard to believe that WB ever considered anyone else, but they reportedly shortlisted, Alison Brie, Mila Kunis, Emma Watson, Kat Dennings, Jennifer Lawrence, and many others, suggesting that the character could’ve gone in many different directions. WB and David Ayer seemingly had full confidence in their final choice however, as according to Robbie, she didn’t even have to audition.

CGI in film has made leaps and bounds since it was first used to digitize the world view of Yul Brynner’s robotic gunslinger in the 1973 film “Westworld”. But for all our progress, it’s hard to deny that CGI, when used too liberally, takes something away from contemporary action films. Christopher Nolan might’ve prioritized practical effects over CGI in his Bat-films, but Zack Snyder’s “Batman V Superman” was criticized for overusing CGI, especially in the climactic battle. Thankfully, David Ayer has stated in interviews that Suicide Squad’s production focused on practical effects as much as possible. With characters like Enchantress and El Diablo in the lineup, we’re sure to see some CGI magic, but hopefully it’ll be in moderation.
 

Apparently David Ayer strongly encouraged his “Suicide Squad” cast to bond over the course of filming. If they were to become a believable ragtag team of misfits on-screen, they needed to be a tight-knit team off-camera first. They hung out together in a communal rec room where they had birthday parties, watched sports and played ping pong. According to Killer Croc himself, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbale, Will Smith took the lead in team-building activities. A number of cast and crew members seemingly went so far as to tattoo “SKWAD” on each other, and in photos, it appears Margot Robbie performed some of the tattooing herself. She actually admits to having made a spelling mistake once. Woops. Unfortunately there’s no “take 2!” when tattooing.
 

Let’s play Hollywood “what if”. What if John Travolta hadn’t turned down the role of “Forrest Gump”? What if Tom Hanks had played “Jerry Maguire”? What if Ryan Gosling hadn’t walked away from the Joker? Apparently he was offered the role first. Jared Leto is a respected actor, but Ryan Gosling is one of the few contemporary actors with comparable clout and a film resume to back it up. He was initially interested, but the multi-film contract killed the deal. Joker may be the role of a lifetime - but not necessarily one he wanted to spend a lifetime playing. Ryan Gosling hasn’t committed to a long-running project since “Young Hercules”. Can you blame him for wanting to keep his options open?
 

It’s hard to believe that this 1998 male modeling competition winner became one of Hollywood’s biggest names. “The Dark Knight Rises” failed to please everyone, but the sheer brutality of Hardy’s grounded, Nolanverse interpretation of Bane was certainly a standout performance. Fans rejoiced to hear he’d be joining the Suicide Squad, but filming overlapped with “The Revenant”, forcing him to drop out. As sad as it was to lose him, it’s still a testament to David Ayer’s script that Hardy took the role. Jai Courtney had vowed to never do a comic book movie - until he heard David Ayers’ pitch. Here’s hoping that that compelling script translates to the screen, and Hardy gets another shot to join the team in a sequel.
 

It’s a word that media outlets love to jump on - the dreaded “reshoots”. Reshoots have garnered the reputation of meaning “this movie is a trainwreck”. But in reality most big budget films involve some reshoots. With a film of this scope, it’s often worth going back and fine-tuning to get the best results. Even in situations where reshoots are used to fix major issues, they can work out, as “World War Z” certainly proved. According to the rumor mill, “Suicide Squad” underwent reshoots to add more levity. Despite a few jokes in the trailer, it was supposedly turning into a pretty dark movie. After the mediocre reception “Batman V Superman “received with its somber tone, insiders claim the studio ordered a “comedic booster shot”.
 
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Will Smith Trained with Navy Seals and Army Rangers

Killer Croc’s Makeup Allegedly Takes 5 Hours to Apply

Not the First Live Action Suicide Squad

Method acting has been used by many of the greats, including Marlon Brando, Sally Field, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, and tragically, Heath Ledger, when he took on the mantle of the clown prince of crime for “The Dark Knight”. Thankfully, Jared Leto seems to have successfully come out the other side of his time as “Mr.J”. But things still got pretty dark and weird during his time in character. He reportedly sent his fellow cast members gifts that only a true gang of sadistic killers could appreciate... like bullets, live rats, a dead pig, used condoms and more. Leto described the role as “walking on hallowed ground”, and in order to do it justice he needed to live as the Joker full time.

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite Suicide Squad fact? For more larger than life top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.