Whenever a new superhero movie begins production, the comic book readers among us can’t help wondering which tales influenced the filmmakers. More often than not, writers and directors merely pull inspiration from various stories rather than strictly adapting one specific work. And based on the information recently brought to life, The Suicide Squad will be no different.
If you’ve already seen 2016’s Suicide Squad – and you probably have – then you should be aware of how David Ayer factored several different runs into his goulash of sorts. Though the John Ostrander era was there to thank, it became obvious how much Ayer looked to the New 52. After all, his inclusion of Harley Quinn and Diablo owed thanks to those books, not to mention nods to the Kicked in the Teeth arc.
James Gunn, however, may be even more eclectic in this sense. In a recent Instagram discussion, which you can view below, he admitted that while he did take more modern books into account, a lot of his flick will pay respect to what Ostrander and Kim Yale did back in the 1980s.
Actually, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given how Gunn’s social media reveal of the film’s full cast made use of the same font utilized by those very comics published during the ’80s. Still, I wouldn’t doubt it if he’s been reading some New 52 and Rebirth material because, again, we have Harley Quinn in the mix.
Now that you have this knowledge at your disposal, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to head to either your local comic shop, bookstore or library to begin boning up before the movie arrives. Come to think of it, now is a good time to mention that DC is launching a new Suicide Squad series this December, as it’ll reunite the Injustice creative team of writer Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo.
The Suicide Squad opens in theaters on August 6th, 2021.