James Gunn recently launched a podcast episode titled The Suicide Squad: Is It Canon? The Official Podcast, and you can watch the full episode here. At first I wasn't sure if it was a one-off or an ongoing series, but Gunn confirmed right at the start that it's a special one-off episode hosted by him alongside co-hosts Jennifer Holland (Emilia Harcourt) and Steve Agee (John Economos and the on-set King Shark). And in this episode, he answered something I've been wondering about for a long time.
Actually, no. He confirmed something I've been claiming for years, right from the moment he took over DC Studios.
Spoiler Warning!
Consider this your official spoiler warning for the podcast episode. Let's get right to it: James Gunn just confirmed that The Suicide Squad is officially canon to his DCU and I’ve officially been vindicated! After weighing the whole movie with Holland and Agee, Gunn declared that "not only is The Suicide Squad canon, but it's the first canon film in the DCU." He only placed one small asterisk on the movie regarding how Harley Quinn's future will play out, asking fans for a little leeway while he figures out how that manifests.
I knew it! I called it!
Naturally, that confirmation comes with a ton of questions, starting with how the 2021 film separates itself from David Ayer's 2016 Suicide Squad. Gunn explained that while Harley Quinn already knows Rick Flag Jr. and Captain Boomerang from prior Task Force X missions, the 2016 movie itself can't be canon. Making Ayer's film canon would tie their hands with Ben Affleck's Batman and prevent DC Studios from ever using Deadshot, a character Gunn still wants to use down the line.
Fortunately, because Gunn loves engaging directly with the fanbase, he answered almost every major canon question right in the episode. That's what I love most about James Gunn: his transparency with the DCU. He understands that the best way to get fans hyped is to just tell us what's going on so we don't have to sit around wondering or deal with grifters spreading fake information. I love that he'll hop on Threads to shut down a fake rumor, or sit right at this podcast table and call out people claiming Batman's already set to show up in a project as total bullshit. Massive respect to you, James Gunn.
The Margot Robbie Question
While having The Suicide Squad in the official timeline is great, it leaves a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up. Where are these characters right now? Who's going to continue playing in the DCU, and most importantly, will Margot Robbie come back as Harley Quinn?
Let's start there, because that was the biggest question on my mind. If she returns, where is Harley in terms of her story? Who'd play the Joker, and are the two of them even together?
Gunn stated that the Joker hasn't been established in the DCU yet and isn't named in the 2021 film, leaving their breakup status up in the air for now. In the podcast episode, Gunn also sounded hesitant to assume Margot Robbie would even want to return, noting she might be over playing the character even though he certainly plans to use Harley in the DCU. Margot Robbie is a massive star right now. Even back when she first took the role, she was already a huge celebrity, and Gunn called her "kind of the biggest female star in the world." In my opinion, holding onto her today would be costly, though Gunn promised that if Robbie wants to play Harley again, "I'll bend over backwards to explain that in the world." Otherwise, he might recast the role so he isn't tied to past canon events with Harley.
That excites me as a fan because I love Margot Robbie. She was phenomenal even in David Ayer's 2016 Suicide Squad film. Don't judge me, but I actually had the opportunity to meet her when I was younger at the Suicide Squad event at San Diego Comic-Con, and I still have the photos from that day. Whether you liked that 2016 movie or not, she was great in it, and she killed it in Birds of Prey and the 2021 film too. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is easily one of the greatest castings in DC history.
Would she actually come back, though? While I hope she does, in my opinion, I can definitely see it being an expensive move that'd require giving her some real creative control. And to James Gunn, if you somehow end up reading this, please don't take that as me stating a fact! It's just my personal opinion, though we all know Gunn actually reads what fans write online.
Dead Characters, Recasting, and Idris Elba's Respect
Another huge topic is the body count. Plenty of characters in The Suicide Squad clearly died. The movie's called The Suicide Squad for a reason. Listening to Gunn's thought process on how to handle those deaths and overlapping actors was fascinating, and I definitely recommend watching the full episode yourself.
Here's the catch: Gunn is totally fine with letting actors whose characters died in The Suicide Squad return to play completely different DCU characters, like Michael Rooker or Captain Boomerang actor Jai Courtney. However, he's strictly against bringing dead characters like Captain Boomerang or Polka-Dot Man back to life. As Gunn put it when explaining why Boomerang stays dead, "we also have the rule in the DCU that if you die, you die. Death means something in the DCU."
On the other hand, we could actually see TDK return, who I didn't even realize survived the movie until watching this podcast! Gunn said he purposefully kept TDK alive at the end of the film so he could bring him back, though he'd probably have to recast the role since Nathan Fillion is famously playing Guy Gardner now. Gunn is willing to take some creative swings just to bring great characters and actors back into the mix. Personally, the one character I'd love to see return in live-action is King Shark. Gunn confirmed King Shark is already canon and will be a series regular in Creature Commandos Season 2 shortly after Man of Tomorrow, which is awesome, and it'd be wild to eventually watch Batman or Superman face off against a giant talking shark in live-action.
Gunn also dove into how Idris Elba was cast as Bloodsport. Originally, the lead role was Will Smith's Deadshot, and then there were talks of Elba taking over Deadshot. At first Elba didn't mind, but after that idea got some negative reaction, Elba called Gunn freaking out because he didn't want to step into Will Smith's role and be the second guy. Then the idea shifted to Deathstroke, and we found out that Gunn's friend Joe Manganiello called him up upset because he didn't want Elba replacing him as Deathstroke either. Because Gunn loves Joe, he moved on from that idea too and landed on Bloodsport, giving him a brand-new costume and power set.
On one hand, I don't love the idea that actors can sway Gunn's creative decisions. On the other hand, it's a great sign of his character that he treats his friends and colleagues with that level of respect. Who knows? Maybe Joe Manganiello will finally get to come back as Deathstroke. He definitely deserves a real shot at playing that character.
As for Bloodsport, I'm glad Gunn loved working with Elba and wants to bring him back, along with Daniela Melchior's Ratcatcher 2. Gunn even mused that Bloodsport putting David Corenswet's Superman in the ICU with a kryptonite bullet could still work in the timeline if the events of The Suicide Squad are pushed up to 2023 or 2024. I don't think Bloodsport needs his own solo movie, but an HBO Max series or a team-up project with a few survivors would be awesome. Give me Bloodsport, Ratcatcher 2, and King Shark teaming up, with Harley Quinn dropping in for a Suicide Squad reunion.
All of this is possible because of how DC Studios is structured behind the scenes. As Gunn pointed out early in the episode, a lot of people still don't realize that DC Studios isn't operating under Warner Bros. anymore; it's a standalone studio right alongside Warner Bros. Studios and Paramount Studios, giving Gunn and Peter Safran full control over these stories and characters. That creative freedom reaffirms what I broke down in my recent video, The State of the DCU, where I talked about how heavily this universe is leaning into mature, adult storytelling right now.
The Hunt for the DCU's Batman
Finally, Gunn wrapped up the episode by addressing the Dark Knight. Once again, I love that this man actually reads social media posts and calls out the rumors. He stated plainly that Batman hasn't been cast yet, calling the rumors about Batman showing up in current projects bullshit, and when James Gunn says something like that, I believe him. He did note that casting the DCU's Batman isn't very far away and wouldn't even rule out someone who had a “small day role” in The Suicide Squad, adding that "one of the things that excites me about casting Batman is being able to pick a Batman who's actually the best actor for that role."
If you've watched any of my DC videos, you know I constantly bring up the fact that I want Batman now. I was thinking about him during Lanterns, which the podcast even highlighted by playing the Episode 6 clip where John Stewart directly references Starro sliding out of the ocean. I was thinking about him while watching Superman and Supergirl. I was definitely thinking about him while watching Clayface. Now that Gunn's openly talking about the casting process, I'm ready for him to drop the news.
If it were up to me to fan-cast the role, my personal pick would be Jensen Ackles. However, when Steve Agee asked if he has to take age into account so the actor isn't 60 in ten years, Gunn confirmed that age is a massive factor and that Batman and Superman are roughly around the same age. Because of that, my fan-cast of Ackles at 48 might be a bit too old for what they have planned. Let me know what you think about that in the comments.
Either way, I'm glad to be vindicated on The Suicide Squad being canon. It isn't the biggest deal in the world, though I might have to tell a couple of people "I told you so." If you want to get caught up on James Gunn's DCU, go watch Clayface in theaters right now, and fire up HBO Max (if you don't have HBO Max by now, what are you doing?) to catch up on Superman, Supergirl, Lanterns, and The Suicide Squad. I've loved that movie since the day it released, and now that it's officially the first canon film of the DCU, I'm going to rewatch it and drop a full review soon.
Have you watched the podcast episode yet, and who do you want to see return from The Suicide Squad? Let me know down below and check out all of my DC Coverage here!