None of this should come as much of a surprise, but Warner Bros. has officially confirmed its Suicide Squad cast. As expected, Jared Leto will be playing The Joker, and he’ll be joined by Margot Robbie in the role of Harley Quinn, Will Smith stepping into the shoes of Deadshot, Jai Courtney bringing Captain Boomerang to life and Tom Hardy tackling the group’s leader, Rick Flag. Rounding out the cast will be Cara Delevinge, who was previously rumored for the role of Quinn but will instead be playing Enchantress, a supervillain with magical powers.
Warner Bros. exec Ben Silverman weighed in on the exciting casting earlier, stating:
“The Warner Bros. roots are deep on this one. David Ayer returns to the studio where he wrote Training Day and brings his incredible ability to craft multidimensional villains to this iconic DC property with a cast of longtime Warner collaborators Will Smith and Tom Hardy, and other new and returning favorites: Margot, Jared, Jai and Cara. We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under Ayer’s amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero.”
That only leaves us with one major role left unfilled, Amanda Waller (think of her as the Suicide Squad’s Nick Fury). Kerry Washington was initially rumored for the part, but now we’re hearing that it may go to Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer or Oprah Winfrey (who is said to be the studio’s top choice).
Overall, it’s a very interesting cast, despite not being all that surprising. Almost all of these names have been rumored over the past couple weeks in some capacity or another, but it’s still great to see that Warner Bros. was able to lock everyone down. While I can’t say that I agree with who each actor is playing (for instance, I think Courtney would make a better Deadshot than Smith), I’m thrilled to see the studio assemble such a talented cast for what sounds like an ambitious project.
Also, the fact that The Joker will indeed be showing up here, with Jared Leto in the role, is huge. The actor will be following in the footsteps of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger, which is no easy feat, and it will fascinating to see his take on the iconic character.
Suicide Squad will shoot in Toronto in April 2015 and is expected to hit theatres on August 5th, 2016. Tell us, are you a fan of the cast that’s been put together? Sound off below!