No April Fools Joke: The Suicide Squad theatrical trailer drops

If you have ventured into a movie theater for the first time in a year to see Godzilla vs. Kong– and Sam Mashkovech d’Ars suggested in his review that, if it’s safe to do so, this might be the most satisfying way to watch it – you’ve probably grabbed a brand new trailer for the upcoming one. The suicide squad, with new footage and a distinctly different tone to the Red Band trailer that dropped last week. “Although it’s April Fool’s Day, the only joke here is about the supervillains who agreed to work for Amanda Waller,” writer / director James Gunn joked in his Twitter announcement of the new trailer.

As we reported last week, The suicide squad is more of a relaunch than a direct sequel to the 2016 film; Gunn has said he wants to take the franchise in a new direction and introduce new characters. It was inspired by the original 1980s by John Ostrander Suicide Squad comics. (Ostrander has a small role in the final film.) Gunn described his R-rated film as a superhero version of the classic 1967 film. The dirty dozen, selecting characters he describes as “Class B Losers, Villains.” And apparently the studio allows him to kill certain characters as he sees fit, which should make for some thrilling viewing. (We bet Harley Quinn will survive.)

According to the official synopsis:

Welcome to Hell – aka Bell Reve, A’s highest-fatality prison in the US where the worst supervillains are kept and where they’ll do anything to get out – even join super-secret Task Force X and super shady Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior]), Savant (Michael Rooker), King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone), Blackguard (Pete Davidson), Javelin (Flula Borg) and everyone’s favorite psychopath, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). Then heavily arm them and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy infused island of Corto Maltese.

Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis are back as Col. Rick Flag and Intelligence Officer Amanda Waller, respectively, with Steve Agee playing John Economos, Prison Warden and Waller’s Assistant. Other new cast members include Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), whose polka-dot suit is actually a collection of gadgets; Weasel (Sean Gunn), an anthropomorphic weasel; Sol Soria (Alice Braga); TDK (Nathan Fillion); Mongal (Mayling Ng); Flo Crawley (Tinashe Kajese); Bloodsport’s daughter, Tyla (Storm Reid); and Thinker (Peter Capaldi).

Usually, the official trailers and their theatrical counterparts are broadly similar in tone and content. However, “I was firm in not wanting to make two trailers exactly the same”, Gunn explained on Twitter. “It bothers me when they do that. If we ask fans to watch TWO, let’s give them a reason to do it, focusing on different aspects of our movie.” He also assured fans that they didn’t need to see the 2016 David Ayers original to keep up with the events of The suicide squad and suggested that his film is best seen in IMAX. As to why King Shark wears clothes and Weasel doesn’t, Gunn said, “Have you ever tried putting clothes on your cat?”

This latest trailer dispenses with the jokey tone and common gags of King Shark’s horrible eating habits (“num-num”) in favor of a darker, more ominous tenor. It opens with a voiceover from Capaldi’s Thinker, seemingly trolling team members into being Waller’s pawns. “Supervillains. Sad souls in costumes, ”he intones. “Wanting you to think they are all dark and deep. How does it feel to live life as a punchline? But all it would take would be a blessed act of rebellion for you to restore your dignity in its entirety. “

We see Polka-Dot Man in action in the new footage, and TDK reveals a surprising ability to separate his arms from his body – to what end isn’t entirely clear. And no longer wonder what is written on the back of Harley Quinn’s jacket: “Live Fast Die Clown”.

The suicide squad opens in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6, 2021.

Listing image by YouTube / Warner Bros.