The DC side of the superhero genre has been going through some major changes recently thanks to co-CEO James Gunn. The Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker has crafted a new shared universe, and releasing projects both in theaters and streaming with a HBO Max subscription. Fans have endless questions about upcoming DC movies, including if Joel Kinnaman will ever return as Rick Flag Jr.. And now the 46 year-old actor has weighed in on that possibility.

Folks who have been watching the DC movies in order will recall that Flag was killed by John Cena's Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad. While Peacemaker Season 2 retconned the DCEU, Rick's death is still canon, and motivation for his father Rick Flags' vendetta against Chris Smith. During a conversation with ScreenRant, Kinnaman was asked if his appearance in Peacemaker was his final bow as his signature DC character, responding with:

Womp womp. It sounds like Kinnaman isn't expecting to have yet another revival as Rick Flag Jr. in the newly formed DCU. His appearances in Peacemaker Season 2 definitely pleased longtime fans, and helped to tie-in events from both Suicide Squad movies. But we'll just have to see if his comments are accurate, or if we get more of him in Season 3 and/or a film project. With the multiverse already in play it feels like just about anything is possible.

The finale of Peacemaker Season 2 saw Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr. finally get his revenge, trapping Chris in the pocket universe Salvation, which will be used as a prison for metahumans in the DCU. Kinnaman's character is still a strong presence, so perhaps another flashback could happen if/when a third season ends up happening on HBO.

Joel Kinnaman's tenure as Rick Flag Jr. was definitely an interesting one, which involved multiple DC reboots. His death at the end of The Suicide Squad was a devastating twist, one that seemingly set up Peacemaker as a bonafide DC villain. And while John Cena's character is getting a redemption, Rick Flag Sr. is still very much reeling from grief over his son's murder. So even if the Altered Carbon actor doesn't return to the role, his character will presumably continue to have a presence moving forward.

The next DC movie hitting theaters is Supergirl on June 26th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Hopefully we'll get news about Peacemaker Season 3 sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed.

Warning: SPOILERS for the Peacemaker episode “Like a Keith in the Night” are ahead!

What started out in Peacemaker Season 1 as a TARDIS-y room for John Cena’s Christopher Smith to store his superhero gear turned into a plot device in Season 2. One wrong turn in his late father’s Quantum Unfolding Chamber led Chris to discovering another universe, which we now know to be the Nazi-controlled Earth-X. While this plotline wrapped up last week with a shocking death, the Peacemaker Season 2 finale will ramp things up with its exploration of the multiverse this Thursday on the 2025 TV schedule. However, I think Rick Flag Sr. has an ulterior agenda for the QUC.

What’s Been Teased For The Peacemaker Season 2 Finale

At the end of “Like a Keith in the Night,” Chris, Emilia Harcourt, John Economos, Leota Adebayo and Judomaster returned to the DCU, and Chris surrendered both himself and the QUC device to Rick Flag Sr. The alien technology had been in the Smith family for 35 years, and now it belongs to the United States government. Also, unlike the portal Lex Luthor created to access his pocket universe in Superman, the QUC has a stable connection, so there’s no risk of it collapsing after just a few minutes.

Rick Flag Sr. isn’t wasting any time putting this technology to use, as we see in the preview for the finale, titled “Full Nelson,” that he’s sending various people in containment suits, including Emilia Harcourt, to explore other universes. Unlike Earth-X, however, these realties are vastly different from our Earth.

There’s one with a literal candy landscape, and another with horrific, giant spider-like creatures with human skulls wandering around in a hellscape. It’s some really freaky stuff. As for why A.R.G.U.S. is so keen on exploring the multiverse, Flag is heard saying this:

Harcourt speculates to Economos that A.R.G.U.S. is looking for resources and new ground for overpopulation, which certainly works as the official reason for these missions. That said, I’m also convinced Rick Flag Sr. intends to use the QUC for personal reasons. Namely, he’s looking to reunite with his son… sort of.

I Suspect Rick Flag Sr. Wants His Son “Back”

Rick Flag Jr. being murdered by Peacemaker remains canon in the DCU, and like any good father would feel, Sr. was devastated by his son’s death. We saw him take out his fury on Christopher Smith in “Back to the Suture,” though he claimed to Sasha Bordeaux that this was part of his long game to acquire the gateway device. I have no doubt that Flag would try to kill Chris again if given the opportunity, but for now, I think he’s more focused on looking for another version of Rick Flag Jr. to bring into his life.

I don’t believe the “original” Rick Flag Jr. will ever be resurrected, so if Rick Flag Sr. is as consumed with grief as I think he is, it’s not a stretch to think he’d want the QUC to find a world where a different version of his son is alive. He probably already knows to avoid the Earth-X Rick Flag Jr. if Chris told him about it being packed with Nazis, but the multiverse is infinite. If A.R.G.U.S. can find a world that’s also similar to the DCU, then I’m sure he’ll try his hardest to find that reality’s Rick Jr.

Of course, even if he finds another version of his son, that doesn’t mean this Rick Jr. will want anything to do with Rick Sr., especially if he’s unfamiliar with other Earths. There’s only a couple more days to go until my theory is confirmed or debunked, but if it’s the former, I don’t see this ending well.

Spoilers below for the latest episode of Peacemaker, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched via HBO Max subscription.

Peacemaker’s Earth-2 reveal has completely shaken up the non-Justice Gang member’s existence, giving John Cena’s Chris a second chance to know and bond with his brother Keith, or at least an alternate version of him. But there’s a flip side to that positivity, as Chris also came face to face with Alt-Rick Flag Jr., as portrayed by The Suicide Squad vet Joel Kinnaman.

The somewhat uncomfortable reunion threw Peacemaker for a giant loop, considering their prior meeting that included Flag’s “What a joke” assertion, followed by Peacemaker killing him off. Making matters worse is that this version of Kinnaman’s character is dating Jennifer Holland other character Alt-Harcourt, whom Chris is attempting to woo. Cena addressed working with Kinnaman again in the HBO Max series (via James Gunn), calling his character "an alive, stumbly, mealy-mouthed version of Rick Flag Jr" and saying:

Some of the episode's scenes do indeed feel slightly off, largely because we're seeing a version of Rick Flag Jr. who doesn't automatically despise Peacemaker (at least not in a visibly scowling manner), and one who understandably isn't haunted by the Earth-1 memories of his death at Chris' hands.

Just seeing Rick and Harcourt smiling together at all was a WTF jolt to the senses, all while Cena's character was quite clearly out of his element. So it definitely helped whenever the Sons of Liberty showed up to start destroying things, as it allowed Peacemaker to shake off some of his discomfort. I mean, if the Peace-Cycle can't do it, what can?

John Cena then shared some genuine, no-BS appreciation for his returning co-star, saying:

Peacemaker does not shy away from reminding viewers just how Earth-1's Rick Flag Jr. died, and how much it's rattled Chris even without parallel universes involved. And now to see that same guy (so to speak) being the one standing in the way of Harcourt and Peacemaker's love story (also so to speak) has to be a mindfuck for the latter. Which, I'll admit, is fun to watch, since Cena doesn't always get to play vulnerable in this role.

Joel Kinnaman's Favorite Episode 203 Deaths

Appearing on HBO Max's official Peacemaker podcast, Kinnaman was asked by show creator and pod host James Gunn (who noted how much the actor was giggling at the death sequences) which of the brutal fatalities was his favorite. Here's his answer:

Chris should 100% watch out if he gets stuck inside an office supply closet with Rick Jr. Can't be too careful with one's earholes.

How long will it take before Peacemaker and Rick Flag Jr. go head to head? Will Rick Flag Sr. ever learn about his alt-universe son's survival? Who will Harcourt eventually end up with? There's only one way to find out. Well, two ways, but I don't suggest supergluing onesself to James Gunn.

Instead, keep watching Peacemaker's new episodes dropping every Thursday on HBO Max.

There are plenty of upcoming DC TV shows on the way as well, and arguably one of the most anticipated is the second season of Peacemaker. Filming on Season 2 in April and, since then, James Gunn and co. have been sharing occasional behind-the-scenes nuggets from the set. Now, it looks like one of those social media tidbits has revealed that a major character from The Suicide Squad is returning, and it’s Rick Flag, who was played by Joel Kinnaman. This may come as a surprise to some, but I think I know how Flag will return.

How Was Joel Kinnaman’s Return Seemingly Revealed?

This supposed casting has yet to be officially confirmed by James Gunn or any of the other bigwigs at DC Studios, as of this writing. Joel Kinnaman’s casting was seemingly alluded to by Peter Sollett, who’s set to serve as a director on Season 2 of the aforementioned show. This weekend, he posted to his Instagram, sharing a photo of a clapboard. He also dropped in a message of gratitude, in which he shouted out producer James Gunn as well as actors like John Cena, Danielle Brooks and Kinnaman. You can check out his post down below:

It goes without saying that this is quite the surprise, considering how Rick Flag’s arc played out in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. Flag was killed by John Cena’s Christopher Smith a.k.a. Peacemaker himself after attempting to leak the U.S. government’s involvement in unsanctioned experiments to the public. It was a tough moment and one that haunted Christopher throughout just about the entirety of the first season of his eponymous show. 

But, with Flag dead, you may be wondering how exactly he might be brought back for the series. Well, the answer may be quite simple.

What Could The Producers Be Planning For Rick Flag’s Return?

There are a few possible ways that the writers could bring back Rick Flag, aside from straight-up resurrecting the war hero, of course. An obvious way to do it is through the use of flashbacks, likely some that feature the character’s father, Rick Flag Sr., who’s being introduced and played by Frank Grillo in Peacemaker Season 2. Honestly, Peter Sollett’s post alone may indicate that this is how the younger Flag will be brought back. Sollett’s message indicates that he did work with Grillo and, with Joel Kinnaman shouted out as well, there’s at least a chance that the two will appear on screen together.

Considering what we know about James Gunn’s show though, there’s also another manner in which the military veteran could return. The writers might bring him back as a figment of Christopher Smith’s imagination. The titular antihero has a lot of demons, and the Season 1 finale seemed to indicate that he'd see visions of his late father – white supremacist supervillain White Dragon – who was killed during the events of that season. Or, in an even more interesting twist, maybe Frank Grillo’s Flag Sr. will have hallucinations of his deceased son. Just how close the Flags were is unclear right now, but there’s certainly a possibility that Sr. is haunted by any shortcomings he had as a dad. 

Regardless of how Rick Flag’s apparent return plays into the proceedings, his death will loom large on the season, it seems. That’s because there’s going to be bad blood between Smith and Flag Sr. due to the former killing Jr. I expect this subplot to be relatively interesting, and don’t be surprised if Sr. and Smith come to blows at some point. 

What this new development seems to do as a whole, though, is further hammer down the notion that The Suicide Squad is now DCU canon. As a DC fan myself, I’m honestly still not entirely clear on how the former DCEU production is now part of this new continuity, but I certainly won’t complain about it. Here’s hoping that Joel Kinnaman’s apparent return in the role of Rick Flag is well crafted and above all else, important to Peacemaker Season 2’s narrative.

A premiere date has yet to be announced for the second season of Peacemaker, but it’ll consist of eight episodes and be available to Max subscription holders. For now, you can stream the first season on the platform as well as The Suicide Squad and other DC productions.

In 2014, two years before he debuted as Rick Flag in Suicide Squad, Joel Kinnaman led the Robocop reboot as Alex Murphy, the role Peter Weller originated in the 1987 original. Unlike the first Robocop movie (which is considered one of the best sci-fi movies of all time), this take on the material earned mixed critical reception, with some not approving of it whatsoever and others saying that this Robocop is better than you think. Nearly a decade after its release, Kinnaman has shared what he found “lacking” from the Robocop reboot, and he makes a good point on the subject.

The actor reminisced on his Robocop days while speaking about his latest project, the 2023 movie release Silent Night, with Comicbook.com. As he explained below, Kinnaman thinks the 2014 movie would have benefitted from catering to the fans more and potentially might have performed better if it hadn’t been tied to the Robocop franchise:

Reboot/remaking/reimagining a prior story is tricky, as you want to deliver something new to audiences, yet still honor the original source material enough. For Joel Kinnaman, while he enjoyed the experience of making 2014’s Robocop, he also acknowledges that the feature from director José Padilha went in a tonal direction that wouldn’t easily gravitate towards fans of the original Robocop. It is worth noting that Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, who wrote the original Robocop, co-wrote the reboot’s script with Joshua Zetumer, although it’s unclear how much of what they penned was retained in the final product.

It would have been interested to see how Robocop would have performed had it been envisioned as a brand-new, non-franchised movie. Would that anti-imperialistic approach have fared better using a different character, rather than Robocop fans comparing it to the anti-consumerist and more satirical vibe from the original? Unfortunately we’ll never know, and because 2014’s Robocop critically and commercially underperformed, plans to make a sequel were scrapped by 2015.

As for where things stand for the Robocop franchise as a whole, following Amazon’s acquisition of MGM in March 2023, the company announced it’s developing both a new movie and TV show, with the latter (and possibly the former) being disrupted to Amazon Prime Video subscribers if it moves forward. There were also once plans to bring back Peter Weller for Robocop Returns, which would have served as only a sequel to the 1987 movie, but there’ haven’t been any notable updates about that project since director Neill Blomkamp dropped out in 2019.

In addition to being available to stream on Amazon, 2014’s Robocop can also be viewed on the Pluto TV and Tube platforms. While we wait for official word on what the next step for this sci-fi franchise is, browse through the 2024 movies schedule to see what cinematic content is arriving next year.

The DCEU has been full of twists and turns, including major shakeups behind the scenes. Case in point: James Gunn and Peter Safran being named co-CEOs and forming a new shared universe entirely. There are countless questions about what’s coming next, starting with the first slate of projects titled Gods and Monsters. What we know is limited, Gunn confirmed that only 3 major chraters are expected to reprise their roles in the new DCU. And Suicide Squad’s Joel Kinnaman recently revealed how he’d like to return to DC.

Kinnaman made his debut as Rick Flagg in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, although the movie failed to impress in theaters. He was one of the few actors to reprise their roles for Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, which was an R-rated take on the same team. The Altered Carbon actor spoke to ComicBook about the idea of doing another DC project, where he shared:

There you have it. Rather than getting a third crack at Rick Flagg, it looks like Kinnaman is ready to flex his villainous muscles if/when he gets to reunite with James Gunn on another DC project. Considering that Gunn and Safran are crafting a new slate of movie and TV projets, it definitely doesn’t seem out of the question.

Given how much mystery is surrounding the upcoming DC movies, there are countless rumors about what might be coming on the small and silver screens. The studio has largely been keeping its cards close to the chest, although James Gunn occasionally debunks rumors on social media to help stop the rumor mill from getting too crazy. Hopefully we get more information sooner rather than later, including whether or not Kinnaman gets his wish and makes his villainous debut in the new shared universe.

Clearly Joel Kinnaman had a good time collaborating with James Gunn on The Suicide Squad, and I’me eager to see where their professional relationship might end up going. And since he worked on two very different projects as Flagg, he should presumably be able to embody another character in the forthcoming shared universe.

As previously mentioned, only a handful of characters are expected to carry over from the DCEU to the new DCU. Namely Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, John Cena’s Peacemaker, and Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beeetle. Maridueña reveled Gunn let him in on that news early, securing his future as his teenage superhero.

The final DCEU movie is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on December 20th, and after that the new universe will start with James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

If what you’re looking for this holiday season is a sweet romance full of magic and cheer, there are plenty of upcoming Christmas movies to choose from. However, if you need something a little stronger in your eggnog to get you through December, John Woo’s Christmas action thriller Silent Night might be more your style. Critics were able to screen the film ahead of its December 1 theatrical release, and their opinions range from artful and fun to boring and basic.

Given what we know about Silent Night, this looks suited to anyone who thinks Die Hard is a Christmas movie (and the trailer definitely seems John McClane-approved). Directed by John Woo, the upcoming action flick stars Joel Kinnaman as Brian Godluck, a father looking to avenge his son’s death on Christmas Eve. Let’s see what the critics have to say. 

Paul Attard of Slant rates the movie 3 out of 4 stars, noting that the lack of dialogue in Silent Night furthers the statement John Woo (who's made his first US film in years) is trying to make on grief in this thorny revenge-thriller. The critic writes: 

Peter Debruge of Variety says John Woo lets the guns do the talking in this movie, a high-concept comeback for the director who still has no intention of letting logic get in the way of the story. Debruge continues: 

However, not all of the critics are so forgiving of the director’s effort. IGN’s Siddhant Adlakha gives Silent Night a “Bad” 4 out of 10, saying it plays at best like a Punisher fan film, and at worst like a failed film school assignment. The dialogue-free experiment becomes an unsustainable gimmick, the critic says, writing:  

Kristy Puchko of Mashable calls the production a “major misfire,” agreeing with the critic above in saying it feels like “a bad student film project.” John Woo brings none of the delicious fun of his best projects and has nothing new to contribute to the revenge movie genre. Puchko continues: 

David Ehrlich of IndieWire grades the movie a D, saying it feels like John Woo lost all interest in this story before he got around to filming its “basic” grand finale, thereby rewarding audiences’ patience with a massive lump of coal. Ehrlich says: 

The critics definitely seem to have some differing opinions on John Woo’s movie and his choice to go dialogue-free in this tale of holiday vengeance. If you’d like to check it out to draw your own conclusions, Silent Night is hitting the big screen on Friday, December 1. There are still plenty of good options headed our way on the 2023 movie calendar, but you can also get a jump on planning next year’s theatrical outings by taking a peek at our 2024 movie calendar. 

John Woo, one of the all-time greats of Hong Kong cinema and the mastermind behind a few of the best action flicks of all time, is about to come out with a Christmas movie. Sure, it’s a Christmas action movie, but a Christmas movie nonetheless. If this is the first you’re hearing about Silent Night, which shouldn’t be confused with the 2021 Keira Knightley movie of the same name, don’t worry, because we’re about to break it down.

If you want to know about the film’s release date, who makes up its cast, and what you can expect from what can best be described as a holiday revenge movie, stick around and check out everything we know about Silent Night.

What Is The Silent Night Release Date?

With Silent Night being a Christmas action movie, it only makes sense for it to come out in the weeks leading up to the big holiday, and that’s exactly what’s happening. The new John Woo thriller will premiere theatrically on December 1, 2023. This will put it up against Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce, the highly anticipated concert film bringing Queen B’s latest tour to the big screen. 

The final month of the 2023 release calendar was also supposed to kick off with Tom Hardy’s The Bikeriders, but the drama also starring Austin Butler and Jodie Comer was taken off the schedule in October due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, according to Variety. The rest of the month is filled with massive releases, though, as Poor Things, Wonka, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and The Color Purple are all set for December debuts. 

Joel Kinnaman Leads The Silent Night Cast

Silent Night features a small yet talented group of actors, though their characters’ names have not yet been revealed by Lionsgate, who is releasing the new movie. Leading the ensemble is Joel Kinnaman, who will be taking on the role of grieving father coming to terms with the sudden loss of his son in a bloody and violent way.

Kinnaman – who is best known for his portrayal of Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad as well as his work on The Killing and For All Mankind – will be joined in Silent Night by Scott Mescudi (better known by his stage name Kid Cudi), Harold Torres, and Catalina Sandino Moreno. Expect to hear more about the characters as well as additional stars as we get closer to the film's debut

The Silent Night Trailer Teases Action, Revenge, And Classic Christmas Songs

The world got to pull back the wrapping paper of the proverbial Christmas present in October 2023 when Lionsgate released the first Silent Night trailer. This two-minute-and-change trailer does an impressive job of setting the stage for the bloody and violent action thriller that’s to come.  It teases the film’s action, a story of revenge, and it features one of the best uses in recent memory of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” which has become a Christmastime staple despite not originally starting out as a holiday track.

If the trailer is any indication of what’s to come, then fans of the genre, especially the work of John Woo over, will be in for one hell of a ride when Silent Night opens in December. And who knows, maybe we’ll have another must-watch Christmas movie added to marathons for years to come.

Silent Night Follows A Father On A One-Man Revenge Mission Following The Death Of His Son On Christmas Eve

Silent Night will show what happens when a father picks the most extreme grieving process, in that he decides to get back at those who shot and killed his son via rampaging violence. Lionsgate has announced that the revenge thriller will revolve around Joel Kinniman’s character after his young son is caught in the crossfire of a shootout on Christmas Eve. Instead of letting things go and waiting for justice to work things out, the grief-stricken vigilante, who also lost his voice in the shooting, decides to take matters into his own hands.

Silent Night Won’t Have Any Dialogue

People hoping to hear an epic monologue, watch a tearful father tell the bad guys why he’s come back for revenge, or pick up a new action movie catchphrase to add to the rotation hopefully won’t be too let down, as Silent Night won’t have any dialogue. As hard as that is to believe, producer Erica Lee, who also worked on John Wick: Chapter 4, told Collider in March 2023 that the movie will be very light on speaking, saying:

In a June 2022 interview with Collider, Joel Kinnaman described Silent Night as a “very dynamic action movie” but also one with a “pretty simple” plot that audiences will be able to follow without any dialogue to explain everything. Instead, the RoboCop star said the emotion is “through the eyes and through the action.”

This Is John Woo’s First American Movie In 20 Years

As hard as it is to believe, Silent Night will be John Woo’s first American movie in 20 years, as his last Hollywood project was Paycheck, the 2003 sci-fi action film starring Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, and Uma Thurman. In the years since then, the filmmaker, who almost directed Goldeneye, has worked on projects like Red Cliff, Reign of Assassins, and The Crossing. 

All of this comes years after Woo made a name for himself as one of the most inventive names in the action world, with films like Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow, and The Killer all becoming staples of the genre. His other American projects include titles like Mission: Impossible 2, Face/Off, and Broken Arrow.

This isn’t all that much time until John Woo and Joel Kinnaman bring a bag full of awesome action scenes, holiday cheer, and ice cold revenge. In the meantime, check out the latest on the eternal Die Hard Christmas movie debate. 

It wasn’t that long ago when a new incarnation of Task Force X came together to battle a giant alien starfish in The Suicide Squad. Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag was one of the few characters from 2016’s Suicide Squad who returned for this James Gunn-written and directing installment, but unfortunately, he met his demise at the hands of John Cena’s Christopher Smith, a.k.a. Peacemaker. Now with the Peacemaker series having debuted on HBO Max, Gunn is defending why Cena’s character decided to take this course of action.

For those who need a refresher, although Rick Flag and Peacemaker were on the same side for the majority of their time together in The Suicide Squad, when the former discovered how the United States was involved with the experimentation on Starro in Corto Maltese and planned to share that information with the press, the latter revealed he’d been tasked by Amanda Waller to ensure that the hard drive containing said information didn’t make its way to the public. A fight ensued, and while Rick Flag had the upper hand for a bit, Peacemaker emerged victorious, with Flag’s final words after that shard pierced his heart being, “Peacemaker. What a joke.” Here’s what James Gunn had to say about this moment while appearing on Podly: The Peacemaker Podcast:

So while James Gunn isn’t necessarily condoning the act itself, he does defend that Peacemaker had understandable motivations for killing Rick Flag, rather than this simply being cold-blooded murder. It’s clear during The Suicide Squad that Peacemaker respects Flag, but ultimately his ideals prevent him from allowing Flag to release that information that would reveal a dark secret about the U.S. government. Peacemaker tried to change Flag’s mind and then take the hard drive without lethal measures, but once Flag’s hands were around his throat, he had no choice but to kill the man who oversaw Task Force X out in the field.

Had John Cena’s time as Peacemaker ended with The Suicide Squad, then viewers wouldn’t be faulted for questioning if the character truly felt remorseless about what he did to Rick Flag. However, now he’s leading his own spinoff series, and minor SPOILER alert for the Peacemaker episode “Best Friends, For Never,” but there’s a scene where he’s sobbing in his home about various things, including having to kill Flag. That’s not to say that Peacemaker is fully redeemed or anywhere close to making the transition from antihero to superhero, but at least we know for a fact now he’s not happy about what he did.

You can watch Christopher Smith’s continuing journey on James Gunn’s Peacemaker series, with both it and The Suicide Squad being available to stream on HBO Max. Gunn also teased back in October that he’s working on an additional DC project, although whether it will be Suicide Squad-related or something separate remains to be seen. 

For more than four decades, John Woo has been one of cinema’s most prolific and celebrated directors. In recent years, his film work has been concentrated in his native country of China. Now Woo is set to make his return to the American film scene, which includes 1997's Face/Off. Specifically, he'll be helming his first stateside action flick in nearly two decades.

According to Deadline, John Woo is jumping back into the action genre with Silent Night. This will mark the first U.S. film he’s directed since the Ben Affleck-headlined film Paycheck in 2003. To sweeten the deal more, The Suicide Squad’s Joel Kinnaman will serve as the protagonist in the anticipated action film. The plot will focus on a father seeking to avenge the death of his son. A source close to the project reveals the film will center more on action sequences and less on dialogue. In addition to Kinnaman, casting for other roles in the film is currently underway.

For his first American film in almost 20 years, John Woo has some major push from some Hollywood bigwigs. The production team behind the John Wick franchise will produce Silent Night, including Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Christian Mercuri and Lori Tilkin. The overall production will be overseen by Capstone’s Ruzanna Kegeyan and Joe Gatta. With Kegeyan and Gatta on board, there are negotiations for Capstone to finance Woo’s U.S. cinema return.

With everything set in motion, Hollywood seems excited about John Woo’s action return. And the timing of his Hollywood return could’ve come at a better time as the audience’s interest in Face/Off is revved up again. This enthusiasm can be traced back to the upcoming Face/Off sequel. That will be helmed by Godzilla Vs. King’s Adam Wingard, who clarified that this will not be a full-blown reboot. His experience making the MonsterVerse flick will help inform his take on the action revival. To make things even better, Wingard has toyed with the idea of reviving Nicolas Cage’s character. Fans even pitched mortal frenemies Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman to fill Cage and John Travolta’s roles. Hopefully John Woo will be a part of the reimagining in some way.

When released in 1997, Face/Off served as a follow-up to John Woo’s hit 1996 thriller Broken Arrow. It received positive reviews and made over $245 million at the box office. The film’s success further cemented Woo’s growing prominence in the U.S. film market in the 1990s. Maybe Silent Night will be as successful for the prolific filmmaker as the 1997 film. 

There’s currently no release date set for the action film with the production start date up in the air. Hopefully viewers will hear more about the film in the coming weeks.

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The DC Extended Universe has once again expanded thanks to the release of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. The R-rated blockbuster featured a number of returning characters, including Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. And while shooting the movie sounds like a wet, cold mess, Robbie was apparently a “savage” on set.

The release of The Suicide Squad marked the Margot Robbie’s third appearance in the DCEU as Harley Quinn. She makes playing the femme fatale look easy, but the job can still sometimes be grueling. Co-star Joel Kinnaman recently spoke to Robbie’s behavior on set, as the Rick Flag actor put it:

Harley Quinn is a badass on the big screen, and it appears that Margot Robbie has a similar strength. This is especially true with the various water-related scenes in The Suicide Squad, which occurred throughout the movie’s third act. And Robbie was a great sport, despite the difficulty of the elements.

Joel Kinnaman’s comments to People help to peel back the curtain on what it was like working on The Suicide Squad. While moviegoers get to enjoy the finished product, actually putting together James Gunn’s movie was another matter entirely. That’s especially true when it comes to the buckets of water dumped on the cast before the final battle.

Both versions of Suicide Squad are currently streaming on HBO Max. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Of course, Joel Kinnaman isn’t the only The Suicide Squad collaborator who has praised Margot Robbie for her work in the DC flick. James Gunn had a great time working with the Oscar nominee, going so far as to call her one of the most talented actors he’s ever worked with. Now the question is: when will Harley Quinn return to the DCEU?

Clearly Warner Bros. is invested in Margot Robbie’s future within the DC Extended Universe. Robbie herself seems interested in exploring Harley Quinn’s relationship with Poison Ivy on the big screen. But only time will tell how the franchise continues growing. Regardless, it’s clear Robbie is happy to continue her character’s journey.

The Suicide Squad is currently available in theaters and on streaming. Be sure to check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

The Suicide Squad is set to be released this Friday, and while there are a number of things about the film that have been kept very hush-hush, one major aspect that is in no way a secret is that not everyone in the cast is going to make it out of the action alive. Writer/director James Gunn has made some notable promises about a significant body count generated from the large ensemble of DC characters, and fans everywhere are excited to find out who lives and who dies.

But what if their fates weren’t left in the hands of Gunn? What if instead each character in the new movie had the chance to choose their own ideal exit from the mortal coil? Well, by watching the video above you’ll discover what that version of The Suicide Squad might have looked like.

Late last month I had the pleasure of interviewing the cast of The Suicide Squad during the new blockbuster’s virtual press day, and I asked everyone the same spoiler-free question: if your character could choose their ideal death, what would it be? The answers I got were not only appropriate for each of the characters in question, but fun, diverse, and funny.

As you’d expect, there are a few blaze of glory options taken, but even within that there is still a certain variety. Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, for example, is looking to go down not unlike Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Scarface, and Idris Elba envisions Bloodsport receiving a fatal blow only after a marathon on the battlefield that takes every ounce of strength out of him.

Both Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher 2 and Nathan Fillion’s T.D.K. would prefer to pass away peacefully in their sleep, which certainly makes them the most sensible members of the cast.

My favorite responses, though, are the super weird ones. David Dastmalchian sees the superlative death for Polka-Dot Man coming as a result of an overdose on Candy Dots, which would give him a nice little sugar high to counterbalance his depressive emotional state; John Cena sees Peacemaker going out in pure rock star fashion (leaving the rest to the imagination); and Mayling Ng feels that Mongal’s best ending would come as a result of her literally crushing a planet between her legs. And as for Flula Borg’s Javelin and Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang… you should really watch the video.

Starring all of the actors mentioned above along with Viola Davis, Sylvester Stallone, Alice Braga, Michael Rooker, Steve Agee, Peter Capaldi, Pete Davidson, and more, The Suicide Squad is arriving both in theaters and on HBO Max this Friday, August 6. The film is the best blockbuster we’ve seen thus far this summer, and one of the must-sees of 2021. Check it out, and be sure to head back here to CinemaBlend after, as we have plenty more fun content coming your way.

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The DC Extended Universe is an interesting place, with a mixture of peaks and valleys. The property struggled to get its footing with the first few entries, including David Ayer’s 2017 Suicide Squad. A number of actors are reprising their roles for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, including Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag. And Kinnaman recently addressed what went wrong with that infamous original movie.

The original Suicide Squad had a ton of hype surrounding is, as the first Queen-infused trailer showed off a killer cast. But the theatrical cut left something to be desired. While the franchise could have died there, luckily James Gunn will have his own take on Task Force X. Joel Kinnaman explained what went awry with David Ayer’s movie, saying:

Well, there you have it. David Ayer himself has been open about how he felt the studio interfered with his plans for Suicide Squad. And Joel Kinnaman is seemingly corroborating that claim, as he mentions a number of different visions that were conflicting. Let’s talk it all out.

Joel Kinnaman’s comments to Variety highlights what a distinctly different project James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is from its predecessor. It almost feels like an alternate universe entirely, despite Kinnaman and other actors reprising their roles from the original. Luckily audiences can judge for themselves as the new DC flick arrives this August.

The original Suicide Squad movie is on HBO Max, which will also be the home of James Gunn’s blockbuster. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Given these comments, I wouldn’t be surprised if DC fans increased calls for Warner Bros. to #ReleaseTheAyerCut. Once Zack Snyder was announced to be bringing his Justice League to HBO Max, moviegoers hoped that Ayer’s Suicide Squad would get the same treatment. After all, both blockbusters were greatly altered as a result of reported studio interference.

Luckily for James Gunn, he didn’t have that problem with his movie The Suicide Squad. The Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker has been open about the freedom he had with his upcoming DC debut. The R-rating also allowed the filmmaker to not hold back in regards to language and violence. We’ll just have to wait and see the grisly ways Task Force X members are killed off throughout its runtime.

The Suicide Squad will hit theaters and HBO Max on August 6th. In the meantime, check out our 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

CinemaBlend participates in affiliate programs with various companies. We may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via links.

The DC Extended Universe is a tricky place, with Warner Bros. adapting its strategies with the release of each new movie. The next installment in the franchise is James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, which served as a sequel/reboot to the 2017 original. Joel Kinnaman is one of the actors reprising their role in the R-rated blockbuster, and the Altered Carbon star recently explained why he was so surprised by the completed theatrical cut.

While the general public will have to wait until August to see The Suicide Squad in all of its glory, it seems that James Gunn has been sharing the completed film with select members of the cast and crew. Joel Kinnaman is playing Rick Flag for the second time, and described his various moments of surprise while watching the DC flick, saying:

Can The Suicide Squad get here already? Because while James Gunn is playing with high concepts like a kaiju and various creatures, it seems that the movie isn’t bogged down by the source material. Instead it's surreal, funny, and visually poetic. Luckily the wait is nearly over.

Joel Kinnaman’s comments to Variety show what it’s really like from within the DC Extended Universe. While he’s obviously privy to the events of The Suicide Squad, the finished product managed to take Kinnaman by surprise. One can only imagine how fans are going to react-- especially with James Gunn at the helm.

The Suicide Squad will be available on HBO Max at the same time as theaters. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

With the above quote, Joel Kinnaman makes The Suicide Squad sound like a total trip-- including the highly anticipated violnce of the movie. The film’s R-rating allowed Gunn to go HAM with gore and language, which seems to be at least part of what will make the blockbuster a success. Plus there’s going to be a mixture of drama, heart, and comedy.

Anticipation for The Suicide Squad has been steadily building since it was first announced that James Gunn was attached to direct. Given his acclaimed work in the genre with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, moviegoers can’t wait to see what he’ll do with DC. We'll also see the return of characters like Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.

It should be interesting to see how Joel Kinnaman’s character Rick Flag is handled in The Suicide Squad. He was ultra serious in the 2017 original, and focused on saving his love interest June. But the trailer for James Gun’s movie put him into the comedy, so perhaps he’s loosened up a bit.

The Suicide Squad is currently set to arrive in theaters and HBO Max on August 6th. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

Later this year, the titular Suicide Squad will be reborn with James Gunn's upcoming standalone sequel/soft reboot, The Suicide Squad. While David Ayer's 2016 film wasn't wildly praised, it grossed a whole lot of money at the box office, primarily thanks to its splashy marketing and its all-star ensemble, which includes Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, Cara Delevingne, and Jared Leto. It's certainly a lively cast of characters, though only a few will return for the DCEU's newest cinematic installment.

While this new movie will disregard a lot of elements from the original, including a few key characters, there's still a loyal fanbase for David Ayer's first film, and they're likely wondering what the Suicide Squad team is up to. If that's the case, we're here to help!

Here's what the cast of 2016's Suicide Squad is doing now.

Will Smith (Floyd Lawton/Deadshot)

In the role of Floyd Lawton, better known as Deadshot, an expert marksman and assassin, Will Smith plays the lead character in this ensemble piece. Having risen to fame for his starring role in NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith became one of the biggest movie stars on the planet for Independence Day, the Men in Black trilogy, Hitch, the Bad Boys series, I, Robot, I Am Legend, Hancock, and Aladdin (2019). He was also Oscar-nominated for his lead performances in Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness.

Most recently, Will Smith starred in Bad Boys For Life, which he also produced. Next, he'll star in King Richard, and he's currently signed on — or rumored — to appear in a variety of other movies, including Emancipation, The Council, Bad Boys 4, Aladdin 2, and a remake of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Also, Smith filmed Quibi's reality TV series, This Joka, but its status is unknown after the company folded last year. Outside of acting, the actor/producer/rapper also keeps active on his YouTube page.

Margot Robbie (Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn)

As Dr. Harleen Quinzel, an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist seduced by The Joker and transformed into Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie gave the standout performance in Suicide Squad. Aside from this scene-stealing role, Robbie is known for her Oscar-nominated performances in I, Tonya and Bombshell. She's also known for The Wolf of Wall Street, Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood, Mary Queen of Scots, The Legend of Tarzan, Focus, About Time, Z for Zachariah, Terminal, and The Big Short.

Last year, Margot Robbie reprised her role as Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, which she also produced. This year, she'll return in The Suicide Squad. Most recently, Robbie starred in and produced Dreamland. She also produced December's Promising Young Woman and will be heard in Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway. Currently, she's working on the newest film from writer-director David O. Russell, is expected to star in Barbie, and will possibly lead Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean reboot.

Joel Kinnaman (Col. Rick Flag)

Playing the part of Col. Rick Flag, the militant leader of Task Force X, Joel Kinnaman took on a no-nonsense character in Suicide Squad. Outside of this film, Kinnaman is known for his television roles in The Killing, Altered Carbon, Hanna, and House of Cards. On the big screen, meanwhile, Kinnaman is recognizable for RoboCop (2014), the Easy Money movies, Safe House, Lola Versus, Run All Night, Child 44, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), and the Johan Falk series.

Most recently, Kinnaman starred in Brothers by Blood and The Informer. He was also recently seen in The Secrets We Keep and Apple TV+'s For All Mankind. Next, Kinnaman reprises his role as Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad. The actor will also return for the second season of For All Mankind.

Viola Davis (Amanda Waller)

In the role of Amanda Waller, the government official who gives The Suicide Squad their orders, Viola Davis plays a devious supporting character in DC's blockbuster. As one of our most accomplished performers working today, complete with two Tonys, an Emmy, and an Oscar to her name, there's no denying that Davis is a supreme talent. She's well-known and acclaimed for her work in Fences, Doubt, The Help, ABC's How to Get Away with Murder, Widows, Out of Sight, Antwone Fisher, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Eat Pray Love, Won't Back Down, Prisoners, Ender's Game, Blackhat, Far From Heaven, and Get On Up.

Most recently, Viola Davis starred in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Troop Zero. Next, Davis reprises her role as Amanda Waller in The Suicide Squad. Additionally, Davis stars in Gina Prince-Bythewood's The Woman King and Nora Fingscheidt's untitled new movie. She's also signed on to play Michelle Obama in Showtime's anthology series, First Ladies.

Jai Courtney (George “Digger” Harkness/Captain Boomerang)

As George "Digger" Harkness, better known as Captain Boomerang, an outspoken thief with deadly boomerangs, Jai Courtney gave one of his liveliest performances in Suicide Squad. Courtney is also known for his starring roles in A Good Day to Die Hard and Terminator Genisys. He also played prominent supporting roles in Jack Reacher, I, Frankenstein, the Divergent series, Felony, Unbroken, Man Down, The Water Diviner, and Alita: Battle Angel. Additionally, he had a leading part in The Exception, and recurring roles in Spartacus: Blood and Sand and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.

Most recently, Jail Courtney starred in Netflix's Stateless. He was also seen in Honest Thief and Buffaloed, and heard in 100% Wolf. Next, Courtney reprises his role for The Suicide Squad. He'll also soon be seen in Jolt and heard in Scarygirl.

Jay Hernandez (Chato Santana/El Diablo)

As Chato Santana, i.e. El Diablo, known for his flame-summoning powers, Jay Hernadez gave a fiery performance in Suicide Squad. Most notably, Hernandez is known for Crazy/Beautiful, the Bad Moms movies, the Hostel films, and Friday Night Lights (2004). His other notable credits include Bright, Lakeside Terrace, Max, Toy Story 4, World Trade Center, Quarantine, Max, Takers, Grindhouse, Joy Ride, Torque, Ladder 49, and Carlito's Way: Rise to Power. He also appeared in Scandal Season 7, as well as episodes of Nashville, Six Degrees, and Last Resort. Currently, Jay Hernandez stars in CBS's Magnum P.I. reboot.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Waylon Jones/Killer Croc)

In the role of Waylon Jones, a.k.a. Killer Croc, a cannibalistic metahuman with reptilian features, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays a memorable supporting character in this ensemble piece. Outside of this performance, the British actor is also known for Oz, Lost, The Bourne Identity, Thor: The Dark World, Concussion, and the fifth season of Game of Thrones. His other notable credits include The Thing (2011), Annie (2014), The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, The Mummy Returns, Faster, and Congo. Additionally, Akinnuoye-Agbaje can be heard in Watership Down and Bilal.

Most recently, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was seen in Wetlands, and heard in Moominvalley and Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure. Outside of acting, he made his feature screenwriting and directorial debut with 2019's Farming.

Cara Delevingne (Dr. June Moone/Enchantress)

As Dr. June Moone, an archaeologist who's possessed by an ancient force that transforms her into the host of a powerful sorceress known as Enchantress, Cara Delevigne plays a layered antagonistic force in Suicide Squad. Previously a model, Delevigne continues to expand as an actress, notably with starring roles in Paper Towns and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. She also has prominent supporting parts in Anna Karenina (2012), Her Smell, Pan, Tulip Fever, London Fields, and The Face of an Angel. Additionally, Delevigne plays a lead role in Amazon's Carnival Row.

Most recently, Cara Delevingne starred in Life in a Year. Next, the actress is expected to star in Punk. Additionally, Delevigne will be hosting BBC Three's documentary series, Planet Sex. Outside of acting, Delevigne directed Rainsford's "Crying in the Mirror" music video.

Jared Leto (The Joker)

Playing the part of The Joker, the psychopathic crime boss who terrorizes Gotham, Jared Leto gave a controversial portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime. First gaining recognition for his performance in My So-Called Life, Leto became an Oscar winner for his supporting turn in Dallas Buyers Club, though he's also well-known for his work in Requiem for a Dream, Fight Club, Panic Room, American Psycho, Lord of War, Blade Runner 2049, Girl, Interrupted, Alexander, Chapter 27, and Urban Legend. Additionally, outside of acting, Leto is the lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for 30 Seconds to Mars. He also directed 2012's Artifact, the documentary series, Into the Wild, and this year's A Day in the Life of America.

Next, Jared Leto stars in The Little Things, and he reprises his role as The Joker in Zack Snyder's Justice League. He'll also play the title character in Morbius, and is reportedly attached to Ridley Scott's Gucci, Disney's Tron 3, and an upcoming Andy Warhol biopic.

Adam Beach (Christopher Weiss/Slipknot)

In the role of Christopher Weiss, i.e. Slipknot, the man who can climb anything, Adam Beach is all-too-briefly seen in Suicide Squad. Away from this performance, Beach is known for his work in Smoke Signals, Walker Texas Ranger, Flags of Our Fathers, Windtalkers, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and Law & Order: SVU. Some of the actor's other notable credits include Hostiles, Juanita, Squanto: A Warrior's Tale, Dance Me Outside, Skinwalkers, My Indian Summer, and The CW's Nancy Drew.

Most recently, Adam Beach was seen in The New Mutants and an episode of The Good Doctor. Next, he appears in Percy, The Unhealer, Monkey Beach, and The Power of the Dog. Currently, the actor is in production on Swan Song.

Karen Fukuhara (Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana)

As Tatsu Yamashiro, also known as Katana, a widowed expert martial arts and swordswoman, Karen Fukuhara plays a badass side character in Suicide Squad. This comic book blockbuster was Fukuhara's acting debut, and she has found a few notable follow-up projects in the years since its release.

Currently, Karen Fukuhara is a series regular on Amazon Prime's The Boys. She also voices the titular character in Netflix's Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, and has a recurring voice role in Craig of the Creek. Additionally, the actress was part of the main cast for Netflix's She-Ra and the Princess of Power and she was recently heard in Bobbleheads: The Movie. At the moment, Fukuhara is shooting Bullet Train.

Ike Barinholtz (Capt. Hunter Griggs)

As Capt. Hunter Griggs, an officer at Belle Reve's Special Security Barracks, Ike Barinholtz is a notable supporting character in Suicide Squad. The actor-comedian is best known for his work on MADtv, The Mindy Project, and Eastbound & Down. His other notable credits include the Neighbors franchise, Blockers, Late Night, Snatched, Sisters, Bright, The Angry Birds Movie, and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. Additionally, Barinholtz co-wrote 2016's Central Intelligence and wrote, directed, produced, and starred in 2018's The Oath.

Most recently, Ike Barinholtz was seen in The Hunt, and will soon appear in Amy Poehler's Moxie. Additionally, Barinholtz stars in Apple TV+'s upcoming dark comedy series, The Afterparty.

Are you excited for The Suicide Squad? Let us know in the comments!

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The DC Extended Universe had a unique life in theaters, and the surprises keep on coming. One of the most hotly anticipated projects coming down the line is James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, which will be a sequel/reboot to David Ayer's 2017 movie. A handful of actors are returning to reprise their roles, including Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag. And now the 41 year-old actor has explained why he doesn't view the upcoming R-rated blockbuster as a sequel.

David Ayer's original Suicide Squad movie had a ton of excitement behind it, but unfortunately failed to resonate with audiences. This is at least partly due to studio interference, and fans are eager to see beloved characters like Flag and Harley Quinn back on the big screen in another project. But James Gunn is a director known for having his own bold vision, and Joel Kinnaman explained how this resulted in it not feeling like a sequel. In his words,

Touche. James Gunn will be going from Marvel to DC with The Suicide Squad, and fans are eager to see what he's going to do with the titular group of villains. And while plenty of franchises have seen new filmmakers step into the director's chair, Joel Kinnaman makes the disconnect between projects seem palpable by citing what Gunn brings to the table.

Joel Kinnaman's comments to The Playlist show what it's really like working within the DC Extended Universe. And while he is one of the few returning actors to return for The Suicide Squad, it doesn't sound like the two projects have all that much in common. The cast and rating of James Gunn's DC debut certainly indicate as much.

The Suicide Squad is expected to hit HBO Max at the same time as its theatrical release. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Given James Gunn's success in the superhero genre, it makes a great deal of sense that Warner Bros. seemingly gave the filmmaker free range to create something new for The Suicide Squad. His work in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is universally acclaimed, and he was given his choice of DC properties before landing on Task Force X.

It should be interesting to see how Joel Kinnaman's character Rick Flag changes in The Suicide Squad. His first appearance saw the character eventually managing to connect with the team, while saving his girlfriend June. The limited images we'e seen from James Gunn have seen the character abandon his uniform, possibly joining Task Force X as an equal rather than a supervisor.

James Gunn is clearly very passionate about The Suicide Squad, which he's described as his biggest and most fun project he's ever been apart of. The R-rated movie will star a massive cast of characters, many of which likely won't make it out alive. And with the returning faces of Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, and Margot Robbie, there will still be some connective tissue between two very distinct blockbusters.

The Suicide Squad is currently expected to hit theaters on August 6th. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.

When Suicide Squad hit theaters in 2016, it wound up being a big disappointment to longtime fans of the comic series. Creative differences between director David Ayer and the studio led to the final cut of the film being much different from his original vision. Now that Warner Bros. has opened up the door for fan-supported director’s cuts, some have renewed the call for The Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad -- and even some of the cast members, like Joel Kinnaman, have weighed in.

In both David Ayer’s Suicide Squad and James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad, Joel Kinnaman plays the pivotal role of Rick Flag. He hasn’t held back on his feelings about the original film -- and how he, like fans and critics, felt it could have been much better. So it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that he’s got some feelings about the potential of Suicide Squad following in the Snyder Cut’s footsteps. When asked if he thinks an Ayer Cut would be a good idea, he said:

It’s an interesting perspective, and a good one to keep in mind -- that this experience of a filmmaker and studio not seeing eye-to-eye is far from abnormal. Still, based on Joel Kinnaman's comments on The Playlist Podcast, he would be on board with an Ayer Cut, for one reason in particular:

Joel Kinnaman isn’t the only member of the original Suicide Squad who’s voiced an opinion on a potential Ayer Cut. Jared Leto, who famously played the Joker in a surprisingly small role, has also hinted that he’d be happy for David Ayer if he were able to have another opportunity to revisit the film. Margot Robbie, a.k.a. Harley Quinn, has also admitted she’d be curious to see The Ayer Cut. Given that fans were especially frustrated with Harley Quinn’s character arc in Suicide Squad, it’s easy to understand why.

Of course, David Ayer himself seems to be up to the challenge of bringing the world the Suicide Squad he imagined. There’s just one problem: he’s made it pretty clear that as of right now, The Ayer Cut is not happening. So for now, we’ll have to wait for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad -- it’s currently due to hit theaters in August 2021.

A truly intense acting experience can push an actor to deliver one of their best performances, but sometimes that process also brings something rather unexpected out of a performer. The Secrets We Keep is a perfect example of one such performance, as actor Joel Kinnaman playing the character Thomas resulted in the Suicide Squad cast member seeing a side of himself he isn’t terribly familiar with. While it didn’t yield any horror stories from the set of the film, it did manage to give Kinnaman a hell of a story to tell from his time making the movie.

I was recently able to speak with Joel Kinnaman, among some of his co-stars, on behalf of CinemaBlend for The Secrets We Keep’s press day. Paired with his friend and on-screen tormentor Noomi Rapace, the conversation in the room had earlier turned to the lessons that Ms. Rapace had learned with her time on the film, as she and Kinnaman had been attached to this script for some time before going into production. As far as her experience with The Secrets We Keep was concerned, her role as the film’s executive producer helped keep her more on her toes, as well as appreciate the experience of making the movie more than any other project she’s worked on.

Piggybacking off of that sentiment was Joel Kinnaman’s remarks about how he felt that the film did something different for him. With a good portion of the movie seeing Thomas bound and gagged in the basement of Noomi Rapace’s Maja and Chris Messina’s Lewis, The Secrets We Keep sees Kinnaman restrained by Rapace because she thinks she’s found a hidden ex-Nazi soldier who tormented her and her sister shortly after the war. All circumstances present and accounted for, Joel Kinnaman compared his time on the set of The Secrets We Keep to his usual jovial self as follows:

You can tell, even just by talking to Joel Kinnaman, that he’s a guy who loves to make friends. During our interview, Kinnaman was all smiles and laughs, wearing a floppy cheetah print hat and discussing how being tied up was quite the mood ruiner for his days on The Secrets We Keep’s set. What’s even more surprising is the fact that while you might think that he’s just doing a good job of acting like he’s tightly bound and gagged to a chair, Joel Kinnaman was actually pretty tightly packaged at all times. This was thanks to Yuval Adler, the co-writer/director of The Secrets We Keep, who made sure he did all he could to keep his actors in the right mindset. Something that, as Kinnaman continued to explain, really put him in a foul mood:

Rage is a concept explored at length in The Secrets We Keep, as Maja and Lewis’ descent into madness and potential revenge is paralleled by Thomas’ slow building anger for being captured for a crime he swears he’s not capable of. As the mystery surrounding the exact circumstances of his emigration to the United States from post-war Switzerland unfolds, the audience is led to question just how much of the truth Joel Kinnaman’s character is telling. You can see the actor himself describing these experiences, with some additional context added, in the video from our interview below:

The Secrets We Keep is a dramatic thriller that keeps the audience guessing in terms of what the truth behind Maja and Thomas’ potential history actually is throughout the entirety of its narrative. Part of the reason the film is able to maintain such thematic tension so well is because of the performances that actors like Joel Kinnaman give, with him channeling the rage of captivity into the drama of trying to plead one’s innocence. The results are undeniable, as Kinnaman’s chemistry with friend and collaborator Noomi Rapace also lends to a pair of performances that see both scene partners knowing how and when to push each other to another level of cinematic confrontation. Though it should be noted, Joel Kinnaman did go on record as saying filming The Suicide Squad was like filming his first comedy.

Compared to the emotionally intense experience Joel Kinnaman described on the press day for this particular film, it sounds like getting back into the saddle as Rick Flag was somewhat of a well-earned vacation; something audiences will surely be able to attest to once they’ve seen this particular film. If you’re up for seeing such an experience at a theater near you, The Secrets We Keep is currently in a limited theatrical run, with a VOD rental debut set to take place on October 16.

However, that’s not the only movie greeting would-be theatergoers, as you’ll see when you take a look at our updated 2020 release schedule! So if you’ve got a theater open in your neck of the woods, and you feel safe enough to head out, you should use that calendar to plan accordingly.

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The DC Extended Universe is always growing and changing, and there are a number of highly anticipated blockbusters coming over the next few years. Chief among them is James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, which will be a soft reboot of David Ayer's similarly titled 2017 movie. The Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker will pair a cast of newcomers with a handful of returning faces, including Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag. And now Kinnaman has spoken about the "loud out loud" funny script written by Gunn himself.

Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag debuted in the original Suicide Squad film, and was tasked with keeping Task Force X together in the field. He was Amanda Waller's eyes and earns, and also share conflicting feelings about Enchantress/ June Moon. While he wasn't exactly a comedic character, Flag will get the James Gunn humor in The Suicide Squad. Kinnaman spoke to this seismic change, saying:

Well, that's exciting. James Gunn is a filmmaker who is known for putting himself into projects. That includes his sense of humor, which helped to make the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise a fan favorite entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Those comedic muscles will once again be flexed with The Suicide Squad, although the upcoming DC blockbuster has a far larger cast of characters to service.

Comedy's role in David Ayer's original Suicide Squad actually worked against it. Ayer has been open about studio interference, and how the success of Deadpool resulted in his original vision for the movie being altered. But James Gunn will definitely be including plenty of jokes in his DC debut, which something that Joel Kinnaman himself responded to.

DC Fans can re-watch the original Suicide Squad on HBO Max. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Later in Joel Kinnaman's conversation with CBR, the Altered Carbon actor went on to explain how filming The Suicide Squad was different from David Ayer's original blockbuster. The movie's first footage shows the massive scale of James Gunn's script, and clearly the movie will somehow be thrilling, funny, and emotional at once. As Kinnaman went on,

This is definitely intriguing. It looks like audiences will meet a very different Rick Flag in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. And the experience of filming was definitely a teaching one for Joel Kinnaman. He had to use a different set of acting tools for his second installment in the DCEU, and discover new things about Flag. We'll just have to wait and see how it all shakes down.

The Suicide Squad is currently set to arrive in theaters on August 6th, 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your trips to the movies next year.

It's no secret that comic book movies have dominated the film world for the last decade. And with all the cinematic universes currently in the works, actors and directors have been able to work for both DC and Marvel through various projects. Actor Joel Kinnaman will reprise his role as Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad, but some fans are hoping he plays a villain the MCU. Specifically, Spider-Man foe Kraven The Hunter

Kraven the Hunter is an iconic rogue of Spider-Man's, which has been adapted into comics and animated projects over the years. But Kraven has yet to get the big screen treatment, with many hoping he makes his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the untitled third Spider-Man movie. Now we an see what Joel Kinnaman might look like as the villain, check it out below:

Honestly, sign me up. Joel Kinnaman has proven himself an adept action star with roles in Suicide Squad and Altered Carbon, and he looks thoroughly badass in Kraven's signature costume. And while there's no telling if the character will finally appear in Spider-Man 3, this type of fan art might help to galvanize the fans behind him.

The above image come to us from the social media of illustrator/concept artist Jackson Caspersz. They've got a clear interest in comic book properties, and sometimes renders fan castings or announcements. The art of Joel Kinnaman as Kraven The Hunter is no exception, as its a fairly realistic look that would fit well into the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The image shows Joel Kinnamon rocking some of Kraven The Hunter's signature fur. An entire lion head sits on his shoulders, which highlights just how deadly the Spider-Man rogue truly is. He's also got notable scar on his right eye, no double from doing battle with another deadly creature. But if he appears in Spider-Man 3, the villain will be focusing on the biggest game of all: Peter Parker himself.

In the comics, Kraven The Hunter becomes a nemesis of Spider-Man because he's constantly hunting the fan favorite superhero. He thinks slaying the web slinger will make him the greatest hunter of all time, and he's come close a few times throughout his years on the page. He's also a frequent member of the Sinister Six, which unites Spider-Man's villains in a deadly team.

Joel Kinnaman made his DCEU debut in David Ayer's Suicide Squad. Kinnaman played Colonel Rick Flag, a soldier meant to supervise Task Force X and be Amanda Waller's man on the ground. Kinnaman is also one of a handful of actors set to reprise their role in James Gunn's soft reboot The Suicide Squad. As such, an appearance in the MCU could be difficult depending on exactly how the actor is contracted.

Narratively Marvel's third Spider-Man movie already has some exciting threads to pull from. Far From Home's mid-credits scene saw J. Jonah Jameson revealing Peter Parker's identity as the web swinger, so the young hero's anonymity is gone. What's more, he was also framed for killing Mysterio, so the story could go seemingly anywhere. Hopefully that includes Kraven the Hunter's entrance.

The third Spider-Man movie is currently expected to hit theaters sometime in 2021, although it's unclear if the movie will be delayed amid global health concerns. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Jack Reacher will live once more. Similar to how Amazon rejuvenated interest in Tom Clancy's famous literary character with their action-drama series, Jack Ryan, the streaming service is hoping to find the same luck with their latest literary adaptation. While Tom Cruise previously became Lee Child's famous character in two blockbuster movies, this reboot will give viewers a chance to spend more time with the popular character outside of the page and hopefully provide a new spin. But with Cruise no longer playing the part, the question is, which actor should become Jack Reacher in this show?

When it comes to famous literary characters, everyone has a different vision in their head of who the character should be. While Tom Cruise ultimately did a commendable job (at least in this writer's opinion) in the lead role, there were some stark differences between Tom Cruise's physicality and what some viewers expected in the role. Namely, Cruise was shorter than Jack Reacher's 6'5" height, which is a key detail that Amazon is keeping in mind in their casting process. 

The character is also known for being "smart" and "strong," while also being "an introvert" while also noting that Reacher has "no tedious self-pity." He's also believed to be at least in his late 30s. Therefore, when you keep these details in mind, here are some actors who could play the part of Jack Reacher in Amazon's streaming series. Also, let us know which actor you would like to see play Jack Reacher in this new reboot.

Joel Kinnaman

Known for his work on the big and small screen, Joel Kinnaman hasn't quite made it to megastar status just yet, but the actor has proven his reserved talents in some big projects, including (but not limited to) The Killing, House of Cards, Altered Carbon, 2014's RoboCop remake, and several other projects. The Suicide Squad actor is a tall glass of water at 6'2", which doesn't quite reach the 6'5" height intended for the character but it's close enough that studio magic could make it believable. Plus, his cold, yet calculated, demeanor has allowed him to play characters both intellectual and brooding, which would certainly play to the performer's advantage in this title role. He might be a little too busy for the part, but considering that he appeared in the streaming service's limited series, Hanna, the TV actor has established a working relationship with Amazon, one that might pay off for this part.

Joe Manganiello

At 6'5 and well-built with a steely gaze, there's a lot of potential with Joe Manganiello in the title role. While he has transitioned to the big screen on a few occasions, notably with the Magic Mike movies and a brief end credits cameo in Justice League, Manganiello is primarily known for his TV work, most notably True Blood, and he hasn't been attached to a major show since the vampire series left the air. Amazon's Jack Reacher series would give the actor his next major television role, and it would provide him with another opportunity to prove his diverse talents. Like some of the other actors on this list, he's a bit on the older side for a character who is supposed to be in his late 30s, but close enough and Manganiello has pretty much everything else working in his favor to play Jack Reacher.

Kevin Durand

You might not recognize Kevin Durand by name, but there's a good chance that you're familiar with his work. The character actor has been working on both the big and small screen for an number of years, with a few of his most noteworthy projects being Lost, The Strain, Vikings, Ballers, Robin Hood, X-Men: Origins: Wolverine, and Smokin' Aces, to name a mere few. A tall lad at 6'6", even taller than the part requires, and a well-built actor who has dynamic range, this role would be a great showcase for a performer who has proven himself in a number of smaller roles but has rarely gotten the chance to take the center stage. Certainly since he's not reported to be working on any projects, which seemingly gives him the freedom to play this lead role.

Timothy Olyphant

Best known for his work on Justified and Santa Clarita Diet, as well as Hitman, Timothy Olyphant is a very talented actor with accomplishments on the silver screen and the small one, and he could use another big project to prove his well-versed talents. Jack Reacher would serve as a good project for his dependable talents. The 6'0" actor isn't the tallest on this list, but he has the steely gaze and the determined look that could be a good fit for the title role. Plus, the Deadwood star knows how to command a role, being both vulnerable and brooding in the right measure. It would suit him well.

Alexander Skarsgard

Known for working on the big and small screen in equal measures, Alexander Skarsgard might be the most high profile of the choices found here, but he would still be a solid pick for the role — assuming he can make it work. Skarsgard is better known for his TV work, including True Blood, Generation Kill, and Big Little Lies, though he has starred in some high-profile films too, including The Legend of Tarzan, Melancholia, and the forthcoming Godzilla vs. Kong. 

The 6'4" actor has the right height for the part. Also, in the right role, Alexander Skarsgard can seem introverted and unassuming, but in other roles (or sometimes, the same role), the TV-film actor can crank up the menace and prove that he's nobody you want to mess with. That could certainly work towards his favor in the role of Jack Reacher. He's currently attached to The Stand, but if he can make it work, he'd be good here.

These are just a few actors who could stand out in this role. Though there's a good chance that the producers will, perhaps go for an actor who's lesser known, we think these might be good picks for the part — assuming they were available and interested int his intriguing role. Let us know who you would like to see play Jack Reacher in Amazon's new series in the comments below!

Fans are well aware of the drama surrounding Joker’s historic success and what that means for the Clown Prince of Crime’s role in other DC film franchises. At the moment, the Joker’s role in future movies, including The Suicide Squad, may be in question. But that didn’t stop one member of the upcoming movie’s ensemble from heaping praise on the film's artistic approach and Joaquin Phoenix's performance.

During a recent interview with Variety, Joel Kinnaman shared his thoughts on Joker. The actor, who played Rick Flag in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad and is on board to reprise the role in James Gunn’s follow-up, explained that he was impressed with the film for more than one reason, saying:

Joel Kinnaman isn’t the first to note the difference in tone between Joker and other DC movies. Todd Phillips, Joker’s director, has been open about his desire to strike a darker, irreverent tone with his treatment of the story. And Joaquin Phoenix has praised the film’s open-ended approach to both the storyline and its uncomfortable themes.

But he is the first member of the Suicide Squad to openly praise Joker. And his support for the film comes after rumors (and rebuttals) of bad blood between Warner Bros. and his former castmate Jared Leto. The Suicide Squad’s Joker has, thus far, been excluded from both Birds of Prey and James Gunn’s reboot. Though Joel Kinnaman hasn’t shied away from discussing, and even agreeing with, the widespread criticism of David Ayer’s 2016 film, he made no mention of the controversies surrounding Joker, or the rumored rift (which was probably a good call).

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Joel Kinnaman responded so positively to Joker’s darker narrative. The actor has mostly stuck to tackling gritty stories, with roles in sci-fi and crime dramas like Altered Carbon, Hanna, and The Killing. In fact, he told Variety that he feels like he’s filming the very first comedy of his career with The Suicide Squad. And while the movie may not offer up the artistic feel that Joel Kinnaman liked so much in Joker, it will give the film’s ensemble a chance to be redeemed in fans’ eyes. We’ll see where The Suicide Squad fits into the DC movie pantheon when it arrives in theaters in 2021.

John Cena is pulling double duty right now with two major films -- Fast and Furious 9 and The Suicide Squad. He recently wrapped Fast 9 and now he's working hard with his co-stars on James Gunn's DC movie. Cena was just talking about having to earn the respect of the Fast and Furious "family" and it looks like he's already earned the respect (and envy, and awe, and fear?) of Suicide Squad's Joel Kinnaman.

Check out the photo a rather bruised-up and sweaty -- at least, I hope that's sweat -- Joel Kinnaman posted with John Cena:

John Cena looks so goofy in that Instagram photo, but apparently he can afford to look silly since he can also bench ... 4000 pounds?! Guessing there's an extra zero in there, either by accident or for exaggerated emphasis. Either way, the point has been made. Cena is a beast. He's 42, but he's also still technically a professional wrestler. It's his job to stay fit -- and limber doing splits, I suppose.

Joel Kinnaman, 39, has not been slacking himself when it comes to The Suicide Squad prep. You may recall seeing his very uncomfortable-looking treatment just before filming started. We know Kinnaman is back as Rick Flag, his character from Suicide Squad, but this time he said the story feels like more of a comedy.

John Cena's new character for The Suicide Squad remains one of the many mysteries. James Gunn posted a long list of actors for his movie, but he's in no rush to confirm their characters. At one point, Cena was rumored to be playing Peacemaker, but we'll have to wait for confirmation.

This is a busy time for John Cena. He got his acting career going with comedies like Daddy's Home and Blockers, but also found himself a new action franchise in Bumblebee -- and he's talked about wanting to return for a sequel. He's also voicing a character in Robert Downey Jr.'s Dolittle movie, and he's taking over for Sylvester Stallone in the Jackie Chan movie Project X-Traction.

As for Fast and Furious 9, his role in that movie is a mystery too, but he seems to have impressed Vin Diesel. I imagine the way to earn the respect of fellow tough guys on set is to do some intricate fight scene or stunt -- or maybe just to bench 4000 pounds.

The Suicide Squad just started filming for its release almost two years from now in August 2021, but leaks from set -- or just photos posted by the stars themselves -- have been giving little character hints here and there. There's plenty of time for more info to come out. (I still can't believe Pete Davidson is in this.) In the meantime, get ahead of the game by checking out everything heading to the big screen next year with our 2020 movie release date schedule.

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Although The Suicide Squad will primarily be filled with new characters, there are several people from the first Suicide Squad movie who are returning for James Gunn’s take on the Task Force X mythos. Among them is Joel Kinnaman reprising Rick Flag, the Special Force officer who leads the titular team and makes sure its criminal members don’t cause an trouble during missions.

It’s been said numerous times that The Suicide Squad will feel quite different to its 2016 predecessor. As another reaffirmation as this, here’s what Joel Kinnaman had to say about his experience on the sequel/relaunch/whatever it is so far:

Suicide Squad certainly had its share of comedic moments, but with James Gunn at the helm, you can count of a lot more of those moments in The Suicide Squad. His Guardians of the Galaxy movies are among the funniest offerings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so it’s hardly surprising that he’d want to deliver a similar tone in The Suicide Squad. As Joel Kinnaman noted to Variety, that’s a fresh experience for him, as he’s primarily acted in dramatic works.

Clearly Joel Kinnaman is having a blast on The Suicide Squad, which began filming towards the end of September. James Gunn boarded the project in the interim period between when he was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and when Marvel rehired him onto the threequel. Once Gunn has assembled the final cut of The Suicide Squad, then he’ll go back to hanging out with the Guardians, but for now, his attention is focused on the DC universe.

Returning alongside Joel Kinnaman for The Suicide Squad are Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang and Viola Davis as Captain Boomerang. Originally Idris Elba was also brought in to replace Will Smith Deadshot, but then it was decided to have Elba play a new character instead and leave the door open for Smith to reprise the assassin in another movie.

As for the other new faces, so far the only other characters who’ve been identified in reports (i.e. not officially confirmed) are David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher and Steve Agee as the voice of King Shark. Everyone else’s character identities, from John Cena and Taika Waititi to Alica Braga and Michael Rooker, are being kept under wraps, and it doesn’t look like we’ll learn who they’re playing for a while.

The Suicide Squad, which is based on the John Ostrander-era of the team, charges into theaters on August 6, 2021, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on how it’s coming along. In the meantime, learn what other DC movies are on the way or in the works with our comprehensive guide.

Yes, Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag is returning for The Suicide Squad -- which is not to be called Suicide Squad 2, because it's not a sequel to Suicide Squad even though it sort of is. Savvy? It's weird. Director James Gunn won't put a label on The Suicide Squad as a sequel or a reboot, but since it's bringing back several stars in their roles from David Ayer's Suicide Squad, there's definitely a through-line.

The Suicide Squad is meant to start filming later this month, and Joel Kinnaman chose to share an interesting way he's preparing. He posted the photo below with The Suicide Squad and Rick Flag hashtags. He also brought in #wimhof for Wim Hof -- aka The Iceman -- a Dutch extreme athlete whose Wim Hof Method combines cold exposure, breathing techniques, and meditation.

How long was he in there before he had 4 minutes and 20 seconds left? Yikes. Joel Kinnaman's Suicide Squad co-star Jay Hernandez (Chato Santana/El Diablo) replied, "...remember the force Luke."

Jay Hernandez doesn't seem to be returning for The Suicide Squad, but otherwise the DC Comics movie seems to have cast half the planet. Not only are Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, and Viola Davis said to be returning from Suicide Squad, we have Idris Elba, Taika Waititi, John Cena, Nathan Fillion, and Peter effing Capaldi in this cast. There are more, and more will surely be added, since someone else is announced every other day. (Cara Delevingne doesn't seem to be returning as June, but we also thought Joel Kinnaman was out at one point.)

What will all of these stars be doing? So far, all we know is The Suicide Squad may have a "fucking phenomenal" villain, per Kevin Smith's gossip, and "explosions and falling structures," per James Gunn himself. It may or may not have a Robert Pattinson Batman appearance. New characters being added reportedly include Ratcatcher, King Shark, Polka-Dot Man, and Peacemaker, among others.

I'm glad Joel Kinnaman will be in The Suicide Squad, even if the Altered Carbon fan in me will miss him in Season 2 on Netflix. Or at least, I think I'll have to miss him.

I can't say I'm drawn to exploring extreme cold treatments like an ice bath or cryotherapy, but if they work for you, have at it. Here's hoping that ice bath does whatever Joel Kinnaman wants it to do for him so he can be in A-plus condition for James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. The movie is currently scheduled for release in August 2021. Keep up with everything heading to the big screen this year with our 2019 movie release date schedule.

While it wasn’t the critical hit DC and Warner Bros were hoping for months after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice polarized critics and moviegoers, 2016’s Suicide Squad was definitely a commercial hit, so naturally they’d want to keep that corner of the DCEU going. Following numerous behind-the-scenes change-ups, James Gunn is writing and directing Suicide Squad 2, a.k.a. The Suicide Squad, which is set to begin filming this fall.

Contrary to initial claims, The Suicide Squad will not be a total reboot for the officially-designated Task Force X in this continuity. Instead, it’s balancing on the line between follow-up and relaunch, and will feature a sprinkling of familiar faces among plenty of new ones. So let’s go over the lineup of characters that’s been assembled for The Suicide Squad so far.

Margot Robbie - Harley Quinn

After more than two decades of appearances in animated TV shows, comic books and video games, Harley Quinn finally made her live action theatrical debut in Suicide Squad, played by Margot Robbie. Her performance as the psychiatrist corrupted by The Joker was one of the few Suicide Squad elements received positively almost across the board, and The Suicide Squad will mark Robbie’s third turn as the character, following Birds of Prey. While Harley and The Joker were two peas in a pod again at the end of Suicide Squad, she won’t be obsessing over the Clown Prince of Crime again in The Suicide Squad since they’ve broken up pre-Birds of Prey.

Jai Courtney - Captain Boomerang

Although Digger Harkness, a.k.a. Captain Boomerang, was introduced as an adversary for The Flash, he’s arguably just as well known now for being a Suicide Squad member, albeit a cowardly and disruptive one. Jai Courtney will wield the throwing weapons and stuffed pink unicorn again in The Suicide Squad (and is quite psyched about it), although given Digger’s attitude, I’m surprised Amanda Waller is still utilizing his talents rather than keeping him permanently locked up.

Viola Davis - Amanda Waller

Task Force X is the brainchild of Amanda Waller, so it makes sense for Viola Davis to reprise the role. Suicide Squad members come and go, but with a few exceptions, Amanda is the one overseeing their missions and not tolerating their shenanigans. We saw in Suicide Squad how she’s ruthless, uncompromising and will take any action she deems necessary to protecting the United States of America. Count on her being just as unflinching in The Suicide Squad.

Joel Kinnaman - Rick Flag

Although it initially seemed like Joel Kinnaman wouldn’t be back for The Suicide Squad, it turns out he will indeed reprise Rick Flag. While Amanda Waller directs the Suicide Squad’s missions, it’s Rick Flag’s job to ensure that they behave themselves out in the field, meaning he’s also capable of detonating the micro bombs implanted inside them. With The Suicide Squad, however, we will not see Rick’s relationship with June Moone explored further, as Cara Delevingne is not reprising the role. Have they broken up or is Rick just keeping June far away from this part of his life?

Idris Elba

Idris Elba was the first new cast member to be announced for The Suicide Squad, and it was initially announced that he’d be playing Floyd Lawton, a.k.a. Deadshot, taking over the role from Will Smith. However, it was later decided to keep the Deadshot open in case Smith wanted to play him again, so Elba will instead play a different character. There’s no official indication yet who that is, although Bronze Tiger is a good bet since The Suicide Squad is inspired by John Ostrander’s run on the Suicide Squad comic book and Tiger was one of the main members during that time.

David Dastmalchian - Polka-Dot Man

David Dastmalchian is no stranger to comic book projects, having already appeared in The Dark Knight, the Ant-Man movies, Gotham and The Flash. Now he’s making his DCEU debut as Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad. As you can infer from the name, Polka-Dot Man, a minor Batman villain since 1962, uses high-tech dots as his gimmick, with their uses ranging from offensive weaponry to transportation. Given his obscurity and that he doesn’t have a history with the Suicide Squad in the comics, don’t be surprised if Polka-Dot Man is the Squad member killed off early into the movie.

Daniela Melchior - Ratcatcher

Having already appeared in several Portuguese TV shows, Daniela Melchior is making her Hollywood debut in The Suicide Squad as a female version of Ratcatcher. Like Polka-Dot Man, the original Ratcatcher has fought Batman on many occasions, and along with controlling an army of rats, he also utilizes cyanide gas in his crimes. There’s no information yet on what Melchior’s version of Ratcatcher will be like, but given that this character is also pretty obscure, perhaps that increases her chances of being on the chopping block.

Storm Reid

Storm Reid has been acting since she was three years old, but a lot of folks learned about her for the first time in last year's A Wrinkle in Time. While she’s performed in some notable movies and TV shows since then, including HBO’s Euphoria, The Suicide Squad is arguably her most profile project following the adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle’s novel. She’ll play the daughter of Idris Elba’s character, so once we learn who Elba’s playing, perhaps that’ll give some context on how Reid’s character specifically fits into the story.

John Cena

John Cena has primarily made a splash in the comedy realm with his acting thus far, but now he’s finally building up action cred as well with Bumblebee and the upcoming Fast & Furious 9. The Suicide Squad will keep that going, although he hasn’t officially signed on yet. The WWE superstar is being eyed to play Peacemaker, who is a peak physical specimen and relies on brutal force and non-lethal weaponry to carry out his peace cause. It’s a great role for someone as jacked and intense as Cena.

Benicio Del Toro

Like John Cena, Benicio del Toro, who already has some comic book cred by playing The Collector in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, isn’t officially attached to The Suicide Squad just yet, but if a deal is finalized, he won’t be lacking for screen time. Word on the proverbial street is that del Toro will play the main villain, who is simply being identified for now as The General. While it’s unclear if the character will actually go by that name in The Suicide Squad, it’s not unreasonable to assume that this is just a placeholder meant to hide his true identity, so as to not tip of hardcore DC Comics fans just yet.

Flula Borg

Flula Borg is a man who wears a lot of hats in the entertainment sphere, from standup comedian to YouTuber to DJ to your garden variety actor. In that last category, Borg’s resume includes TV shows like The Good Place and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and movies like Pitch Perfect 2 and Ralph Breaks the Internet. Now Borg is hopping into the realm of comic book movies, as he’s reportedly been cast in The Suicide Squad as the love interest to one of the main characters. But who? Does Harley Quinn have a new squeeze after the events of Birds of Prey? Is this who Polka-Dot Man was seeing before he was thrown into Belle Reve? And does Borg’s character have a key part in the movie or will this just be a minor appearance?

Nathan Fillion

For years, Firefly, Castle and The Rookie star Nathan Fillion was the popular fan pick to play Hal Jordan in a live action Green Lantern movie. Alas, while he’s gone on to voice the first human member of the Green Lantern Corps in various animated movies, he was passed over in favor of Ryan Reynolds in 2011’s Green Lantern, and while there is a Green Lantern Corps reboot in development, Fillion won’t be the one to bring the new version of Hal to life… well, not unless The Suicide Squad plans on introducing him. The actor has been tapped for a mystery role in the movie, making this his latest collaboration with James Gunn, having previously worked with the writer/director on Slither, Super and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Taika Waititi

Take Waititi’s already left a huge mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as his unique sense of humor did wonders with revitalizing a certain God of Thunder’s corner of the franchise in Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi will be back to write and direct Thor: Love and Thunder, evidently he’s also hopping over to the DCEU, as he’s hopped on board The Suicide Squad. This will be his second time playing a DC character, the first being Thomas Kalmaku in Green Lantern. Given that in addition to the fourth Thor movie, Waititi is also working beforehand on Next Goal Wins and will be doing press for Jojo Rabbit, I imagine his role in The Suicide Squad won’t be huge, but fingers crossed his character is nonetheless memorable.

Peter Capaldi

Originally known best in the U.K. for playing the foul-mouthed Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It, Peter Capaldi was catapulted to worldwide fame from his time as the Twelfth Doctor on Doctor Who. His tenure as the long-lived, space and time-traveling Time Lord lasted from 2014 to 2017, and now that he’s reportedly joined The Suicide Squad, he has the opportunity to contribute to another major franchise. As with a lot of folks on this list, we’re still in the dark about who Capaldi will be playing, but I suspect his character will have more in common with Tucker than The Doctor.

The Suicide Squad charges into theaters on August 5, 2021, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates. If you’re curious about what other DC movies are in development, look through our comprehensive guide.

In Suicide Squad, Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag is an Army Special Forces colonel who finds himself surrounded by criminals as part of a dangerous mission. For Joel Kinnaman’s new movie The Informer, he again plays a highly trained soldier surrounded by criminals, only this time he is more outnumbered and has almost no one on his side. Check out Joel Kinnaman fighting his way through prison in the new trailer for The Informer:

Anytime you watch a crime drama where a police informant is surrounded by criminals, there is a sense of constant tension that things could go south at any moment and that is definitely present in the trailer for The Informer. Joel Kinnaman’s Pete Koslow is an FBI informant, forced into prison, where he is constantly watched and under threat and to survive he’ll have to fight his way through.

The one thing that’s not clear from this trailer is that Joel Kinnaman’s character is a former Special Forces soldier, and he wound up becoming a felon after a fight to protect his wife. So he’s got some serious skills and might be doing his best Rorschach impression from Watchmen, letting everyone know they’re locked in there with him. The trailer makes it look like the fights will be particularly bloody and brutal in this film, but Pete’s skills may not be enough given everything he’s up against.

What’s intriguing about this crime drama is the dynamics at play between the various parties. Pete Koslow is a pawn in the games of the FBI and the mob, with the former using him to take down NYC’s biggest mob boss and the latter using him to funnel drugs into the prison. Not to mention the NYPD, which seemingly comes after him when one of their own is killed while undercover.

The corruption angle that this story seems to be leaning into means that not everyone wearing a badge is a good guy. That should give The Informer some moral ambiguity to play in, which should heighten the tension even more. This all puts Pete in an extremely dangerous situation with no easy way out.

He may be an informant for the FBI, but as we see in the trailer, their word to him means nothing and he is a completely disposable asset. But of course it’s not just his life on the line, he has a family under threat as well. That means that if he wants to get out of prison and save his family, he’ll have to do everything himself.

In addition to Joel Kinnaman, who besides Suicide Squad is probably best known for his television work like The Killing, Altered Carbon and most recently Hanna, this trailer shows what a talented cast The Informer has put together. Between this and Gemini Man, it’s a good year for Clive Owen playing manipulative characters.

The recently cast star of Amazon’s Wheel of Time series, Oscar nominee Rosamund Pike is also on hand, as is Common and Bond 25 Bond girl, Ana de Armas. The Informer is directed by actor Andrea Di Stefano, who made his directorial debut with the 2014 crime drama Escobar: Paradise Lost.

The Informer arrives in theaters on August 16. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of everything else headed your way this summer.

Some partnerships are too good to break apart, no matter the distance or time. The most recent example of such a pairing, at least in the TV world, is that of Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos, former co-stars on AMC/Netflix’s hit series The Killing. Reuniting for the Amazon Prime series adaptation of director Joe Wright’s film Hanna, Kinnaman and Enos found themselves fulfilling a pact that they’d made back in their previous run of work together, and thanks to their previous efforts, they were all the more prepared to spar this time around.

Though the actors' characters are on completely different wavelengths than their respective roles on The Killing, Kinnaman and Enos apparently didn't miss a step in reattaining their chemistry. Kinnaman described it like this when talking to THR.

Though it was "cancelled" following Season 2, The Killing ran for three seasons on AMC, with one additional season rounding out the series’ run on Netflix. The Killing saw Joel Kinnaman playing the role of Stephen Holder, with Mireille Enos playing Sarah Linden. The detectives attempted to solve various cases while being continually led back to the enigmatic mystery that kicked off the entire series. After that much time acting opposite the same actor in the same universe, it shouldn’t be hard to spark up that same bond once another project comes along.

Hanna is certainly an exercise, both for the cast that play the very complicated characters, as well as the writers bringing the film to extended-format life for streaming television. Only here, Joel Kinnaman’s Erik and Mireille Enos’ Marissa are on opposite sides of the action for a majority of the eight-episode run that triggered their reunion.

With Erik looking to protect the titular Hanna, and Marissa seeking to capture her, the two play a large cat and mouse game that eventually leads to some rather interesting revelations in both of their lives. But as adversarial as their characters are, the recently reunited co-workers are on pretty much the same page.

In some language that plays out as almost the exact opposite direction of their on-screen antics in Hanna, Enos ran down just how well her working relationship with Kinnaman flows. In her words:

Of course, getting together with an old friend and colleague brings back a lot of memories, but it also threatens to put you both back into the old habits that feel like breathing. That’s fine if the intent is to come back for the same mission as before, but with Hanna, there was a different energy, different character alignments, and overall a different goal this time around.

Joel Kinnaman, who's no stranger to such mechanics after his one-season stint on Netflix’s Altered Carbon, further revealed it was a calculus that he and Mirielle Enos were all too mindful of.

While Hanna is extremely different from The Killing, it shouldn’t be any less watchable for fans that enjoy Mirelle Enos and Joel Kinnaman at work together. Their energy propels the show’s short first-season run, even though they're not on screen together all that muh. Plus, the end result is one that should have newcomers, as well as old faithfuls, hoping it won’t be long before we see them teamed together again.

All eight episodes of Hanna are available right now, on Amazon Prime; whereas the entire four season run of The Killing is currently housed over at Netflix.

We have heard that James Gunn’s Suicide Squad sequel will be something of a soft reboot or a relaunch of the franchise. And the more things develop, the more that rings true as the film is looking less and less like it will resemble David Ayer’s 2016 film. It looks like there will be very few returning characters and perhaps one less than we thought because Joel Kinnaman is reportedly out as Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad.

THR reports that some of the characters from Suicide Squad expected to return for the follow-up are Harley Quinn, Deadshot and Rick Flag. However, another of The Hollywood Reporter’s sources says that Rick Flag will not be in James Gunn’s film. So there is definitely some ambiguity about the situation, but fans should prepare for the possibility that the commander of the team in the first film will not be returning for the sequel.

Given this ambiguity about Rick Flag’s presence in James Gunn’s film, it makes you wonder if there is a scenario where Rick Flag the character returns, but Joel Kinnaman does not play him. We just saw this play out with the character of Deadshot. Will Smith could not reprise his role due to scheduling conflicts and now Heimdall himself, Idris Elba will replace him, hopefully giving the actor a meatier comic book role.

That would potentially get into some weird territory though, if multiple characters are played by different actors in the sequel while Harley Quinn is still played by Margot Robbie. Recasting one character is fine (see War Machine in the MCU) but multiple could get into a murky area that would just seem kind of weird. But if Rick Flag is not in the film at all as has been reported, that would gel with the word that James Gunn will primarily be using DC characters that were not in the first movie.

It’s hard to say how Rick Flag’s absence will affect the sequel, given that we don’t know what the story will be. The character did play an important role in the first film, both as the leader and handler of the team and as the boyfriend of June Moone, who became the villain. But there are other major players who could fill his shoes so he doesn’t have to return.

Harley Quinn and Deadshot were the standouts of the first film and the most visible, so those two feel like the characters that must return and they supposedly are, albeit with Idris Elba playing Deadshot. If Rick Flag is out it will be just another differentiator between the two films, and lend to the sequel's supposed direction as a soft reboot.

With all the changes, it does make you wonder if The Suicide Squad will even acknowledge the events of the first film. It’s all kind of interesting because while Suicide Squad was a critical failure, it was a hit at the box office, so changing things up to such a degree could be risky.

That said, Warner Bros. seems to have a lot of faith in James Gunn to move pieces around and makes the movie he wants to make to hopefully duplicate the critical and commercial success he had with Guardians of the Galaxy for the DCEU.

We’ll keep you updated as this movie comes together. The Suicide Squad opens in theaters on August 6, 2021. For movies you can look forward to a little bit sooner, check out our 2019 Release Schedule.

Netflix is rolling up its Sleeves for Altered Carbon Season 2. By now, you may know that Joel Kinnaman is out as Takeshi Kovacs/Elias Ryker, with Marvel star Anthony Mackie taking over as Kovacs' Sleeve in Season 2. The second season is now in production, with the show's official account announcing the new cast. Two Season 1-ers are returning -- unequivocal best character Edgar Poe (Chris Conner), along with Envoy rebel leader Quellcrist Falconer (Renée Elise Goldsberry). Here's a glimpse of the newbies and returnees:

Here are more details on the new cast members, via Deadline:

Altered Carbon released 10 episodes in February 2018, introducing this visually stunning and complex world. The series from Laeta Kalogridis is based on the novel by Richard K. Morgan.

Most of Season 1 was set in a future San Francisco called Bay City in 2384. In this world, your memories and consciousness -- what makes you you -- can be stored on a disc called a cortical stack, with that stack implanted at the back of the neck. You can have your stack be implanted in a new human body, or Sleeve, after death. In this way, the super-rich (called Meths) can keep buying new Sleeves and theoretically live forever.

Takeshi Kovacs was a member of the defeated rebel group called the Envoys. In Season 1, his stack was taken out of prison 250 years after the Envoys were destroyed and put in the former body of Elias Ryker (Joel Kinnaman). A Meth named Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy) gave Takeshi the chance to solve his murder for the chance at a new life.

Renée Elise Goldsberry's Quellcrist Falconer was shown in flashbacks as the leader of the Envoys and Takeshi's love interest. Takeshi Kovacs was played by multiple actors in different Sleeves -- mostly Joel Kinnaman in the future timeline, in the body of Elias Ryker -- but Kovacs was also played by Will Yun Lee and Byron Mann. Kovacs swapped out bodies at the end of Season 1, but the stack will continue in Season 2 in a new Sleeve played by Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Falcon in the MCU).

For my money, Chris Conner stole Season 1 as helpful, lonely, witty, loyal, badass, all-around-fascinating A.I. Edgar Poe, manager of The Raven hotel. He was killed in Season 1, but that doesn't really matter on this show -- for humans or A.I. The more we see of him in Season 2, the better.

Altered Carbon Season 2 is meant to have eight episodes, premiering ... at some point, hopefully later in 2019. In the meantime, keep up with everything premiering on Netflix and on TV during the midseason with our handy guides.

David Ayer's Suicide Squad is a movie with a complicated history. The film was famously rushed through development, had to undergo many mid-production changes, and ultimately received some vicious reviews from professional critics when it came out in the summer of 2016. Despite all of this, however, the movie wound up being a massive hit all around the world – bringing in nearly $750 million worldwide – so it's not really a huge surprise that Warner Bros. and DC Comics are developing a follow-up… albeit one with some massive changes being made both in terms of the characters involved and the story being told. It’s now time to prepare for The Suicide Squad.

With the film now less than a year away from release, details are finally starting to come out beyond those as simple as the movie’s director and the release date. In aim of keeping all confirmed information in one place we have put together this What We Know So Far guide. So read on, and find out absolutely everything we've learned about the development of The Suicide Squad!

What Is The Suicide Squad Release Date?

There was a time when the DC Extended Universe seemed to be floundering a bit, not quite sure what its future was going to be, but now the franchise appears to have a clear vision for the future, and have set up an awesome lineup of movies to come out in the next two-and-a-half years. As things stand, The Suicide Squad is one of seven live-action blockbusters in the works and will be following Wonder Woman 1984 with its August 6, 2021 release date. (You can see the full slate of Upcoming DC Movies here)

What Is The Suicide Squad Rating?

Films like Deadpool, Deadpool 2 and Logan have done a radical job completely changing the comic book movie game where ratings are concerned. While it was once believed that the blockbusters had to be PG-13 in order to bring in key teenager demographics, it has been shown multiple times that it's very possible to make a crazy amount of money while only appealing to adults. DC has gotten into that particular game very recently with the releases of both Todd Phillips’ Joker and Cathy Yan’s Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) and it’s possible that The Suicide Squad will be the next title on that list.

Unfortunately, whether or not that’s going to happen isn’t clear yet. Although the decision has apparently been made behind the scenes as to what the movie’s rating is going to be, it’s being maintained as a secret for now. Like with Birds Of Prey, we’ll likely have to wait until the first trailer is released to get confirmation.

Who Is The Suicide Squad Writer And Director?

In July 2018, the comic book movie world was rocked by the news that Marvel Studios had made the decision to fire writer/director James Gunn from the production of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – and some of the quickest speculation to spring up was the question of whether or not he could be scooped up by another comic book franchise. At the end of the day Gunn and Marvel were able to make up, and now he is back on track to make his Guardians sequel, but those fences weren’t mended before the filmmaker had the opportunity to strike a deal with Warner Bros. to both write and direct The Suicide Squad.

While James Gunn has served as a very hands-on producer on features like The Belko Experiment and Brightburn in recent years, The Suicide Squad will be his first non-Guardians of the Galaxy movie since 2011’s Super. He has also gone on record saying that the making of the new film has been the most fun he’s had in the creation of a movie.

What Is The Suicide Squad Story?

It’s common practice for studios to keep plot details for upcoming comic book movies close to the vest, and The Suicide Squad is proving to be no exception, as we presently have no real idea what the central narrative of the blockbuster is. That being said, James Gunn has said that he was particularly inspired by the original John Ostrander run of Suicide Squad comics, and it’s been said that the film will be working with the aesthetic of a 1970s war movie.

Of course, the general set-up of the titular team – known officially as Task Force X – is the same as it ever was: the group is made up of convicted supervillains who are given the opportunity to take time off their respective prison sentences by performing black ops missions for the government. The movie’s specific relationship with the canon of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad is presently unclear, as the project has been referred to as a reboot of sorts, but it does feature a number of returning characters (which we’ll get into next!)

The Suicide Squad Cast And Characters

Get ready for a super-dose of weird. Like any normal sequel, The Suicide Squad will be bringing back some of the key protagonists from the 2015 blockbuster, but this time around they will be joined by a large number of strange individuals who ultimately play a huge part in making the movie unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie)

The first Suicide Squad was as divisive as blockbusters really get, but if most movie-goers and critics could agree on anything, it was appreciation for Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. Sure, her involvement in the story didn't make a lot of sense (given that she was primarily being used for her connections with the Joker, and the Joker wasn't a part of the actual mission), but, still, it was easy to enjoy Robbie's take on the vivid personality, and it satisfied years of anticipating the character's big screen debut. Now she will be back for her third big screen appearance in The Suicide Squad, and while we have no clue what she’ll be doing in the story, she has an excellent new look and appears to be having a lot of fun.

Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney)

Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang turned out to be one of the biggest surprises packed by the first Suicide Squad, and his energy was clearly appreciated by James Gunn given that the character will be coming back in The Suicide Squad. He has a bit of a different look this time around, but one cool new feature of the character is that his boomerangs appear to glow when thrown.

Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman)

Last time around, Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) was supposed to be the true leader of the Suicide Squad – the moral soldier who could control the supervillains – but that didn't exactly work out as planned. Instead, the guy pretty much screwed up his entire job by getting super emotional about Dr. June Moone (Cara Delevingne), and letting the Enchantress go wild. As far as overall job performance goes, the guy basically got a "D-"... but he’ll be getting a shot at redemption in The Suicide Squad. We’d say that we hope he does better this time, but could he really do much worse?

Amanda Waller (Viola Davis)

Amanda Waller is one of the toughest tough cookies in all of DC Comics lore, and that definitely came across in Viola Davis' performance in the first Suicide Squad. The woman not only has an perfectly clear idea of what she wants in this life, but is also willing to go to some pretty extreme personal lengths in order to get the job done. Most importantly, though, she rules the titular team with an iron thumb, and it's why we are excited that she will be back in The Suicide Squad. Again, we have no idea what kind of mission she will be sending Task Force X to do, but we’re just excited that she’s once again the one holding the button that can trigger the explosives injected into everyone’s necks.

Bloodsport (Idris Elba)

Idris Elba is no stranger to comic book movies, having played Heimdal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and starring in Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, but The Suicide Squad will mark the first time that he plays a character who originates from the DC Comics canon. In the blockbuster he will be playing the role of Robert DuBois a.k.a. Bloodsport, who is an assassin from the comics best known for shooting Superman with a Kryptonite bullet.

Peacemaker (John Cena)

It feels like it was only a matter of time before John Cena got into the comic book movie game, but there isn't a person on Earth who could have predicted that this is the role that he was going to take on (except for, perhaps, James Gunn). Born Christopher Smith, Peacemaker is an antihero who lives by an oxymoronic code in that he is willing to do anything to try and forge peace – and that includes murdering anybody he feels gets in the way of that cause.

Weasel (Sean Gunn)

Even in DC movies James Gunn is still casting his brother as anthropomorphic furry creatures. After years of playing the on-set version of Rocket in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Sean Gunn will be playing Weasel in The Suicide Squad – who looks as bugged out and odd as a character can get in a mainstream comic book blockbuster.

King Shark (Steve Agee/?)

King Shark is one of two characters being brought to life with performance capture in The Suicide Squad, with comedian Steve Agee (who was previously in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) doing the on set work playing the man-eating shark who can walk on land and has arms and legs. It's currently unknown who will be providing the character's voice, though it's rumored that it will be Taika Waititi (who is a confirmed member of the cast)

Savant (Michael Rooker)

James Gunn seems to truly love hanging out with Michael Rooker whenever possible, and The Suicide Squad will mark their fifth time working together as director and actor (the others being Slither, Super, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2). As his name suggests, Savant is a character best known for being tremendously smart... though he is a touch handicapped by the fact that a chemical imbalance causes him to occasionally be forgetful.

T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion)

Speaking of frequent collaborators, Nathan Fillion is another one of James Gunn's go-to guys. The Suicide Squad will mark the second time that the writer/director has gotten Fillion into a super suit after his role as The Holy Avenger in Super, and this time around he will be playing T.D.K. ... a character who we know nothing about because he doesn't seem to originate in the comics (or at least there isn't a character who goes by that specific name).

Blackguard (Pete Davidson)

The Suicide Squad seems to be stacked equally with talents from both the dramatic and comedic worlds, and one cool tally in the latter column is Pete Davidson, who will be playing Blackguard in the film. In the comics the character wears armor that allows him to project a shield and weapon made of pure energy, but given his possession of a hell of a lot of guns in the footage we've seen it's not clear if that will be the case in The Suicide Squad.

The Thinker (Peter Capaldi)

Fans of The Flash television series will note that The Thinker was just used as a primary villain, but we expect that his big screen counterpart played by Peter Capaldi will be considerably different. We're not fully aware of what The Thinker's role is in The Suicide Squad, the comic book counterpart's specialties including hyper-intelligence, mind control, and telekinesis, but we're just over the moon that he's being played by such a fantastically talented actor.

Sol Soria (Alice Braga)

"Sol Soria" is another character name that doesn't seem to actually appear in Marvel Comics, but given that there is a former Suicide Squad member with the same surname, our assumption is that what we're looking at in the case of Alice Braga's The Suicide Squad role is a gender bend. In the comics, Juan Soria is a former wannabe superhero who injects his hands with nanites to give himself superpowers, but after being rejected by the Justice League turns to a life of crime.

Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchoir)

Comic book history is filled with legacy character – which is to say characters who pass on their special monikers to new generations – and it appears that's the case with Ratcatcher 2 in The Suicide Squad – hence the "2." The original Ratcatcher in the comics is a villain who is best known for his ability to command an army of sewer rats, which should hopefully result in Daniela Melchoir being at the heart of some intense rodent-filled sequences.

Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian)

Polka-Dot Man is unquestionably one of the oddest villains that exists in the comic book canon, and while modern comics and adaptations have a tendency to use him as a punchline, his part is actually one of our most anticipated aspects of The Suicide Squad. In his first live-action interpretation he will be played by David Dastmalchian, who has a long history in superhero movies in television thanks to his roles in The Dark Knight, Gotham, and the Ant-Man movies.

Mongal (Mayling Ng)

Joining Weasel and King Shark as the only non-human members of this version of The Suicide Squad will be Mongal, who will be repping for the vast extraterrestrial side of the DC universe and will be played in the movie by Mayling Ng. She is a very minor character in the comics, previously squaring off with Superman and Green Latnern, and it will be exciting to see what she brings to the party.

Javelin (Flula Borg)

Being a tremendously odd comedian who hails from Germany, Flula Borg really seems like he is the only person on Earth who could possibly properly portray the character of Javelin – who is a former Olympic athlete who competed for Germany and decided for some reason to turn to a life of crime (obviously using his honed skills with a long spear to help). Even if he doesn't wind up living all that long in the film at the very least he should provide some great laughs.

Be sure to keep checking back with this guide to get updated information on The Suicide Squad prior to its release. In the meantime, you can check out a wide array of our What We Know So Far Guides right here!

Warning! This post contains massive spoilers regarding the finale of Altered Carbon Season 1. Read at your own risk.

Netflix's Altered Carbon is a show where bodies are a dime a dozen. Given that, and some spoilery details from the finale that will be addressed later, many have assumed Joel Kinnaman would not return to the series should it get renewed for Season 2. Now, the question of whether Kinnaman could return if Altered Carbon gets a second season is being broached again as the actor won't confirm he's out of the series:

Joel Kinnaman can stonewall Altered Carbon answer seekers all he wants, but the facts remain the same. While Kinnaman portrayed Takeshi Kovacs in the series, the body Kovacs was in originally belonged to a man named Ryker. Ryker was the deceased and romantically involved partner of Kristin Ortega, who played a big part in helping Takeshi uncover the mystery of the death of Laurens Bancroft. To repay Ortega, Takeshi returned Ryker (Kinnaman) and had his own consciousness put into a new sleeve, which was only featured as a silhouette that could be either male or female.

With Altered Carbon's plot suggesting Joel Kinnaman is out of the series in a potential Season 2 scenario, there's a lot of stuff happening outside of the show's plot that would indicate Kinnaman is moving on as well. In addition to reporting Kinnaman's quote, THR noted that the actor only signed a one-year deal with the series. Also, Kinnaman has already lined up his next gig following the Season 1 conclusion of Altered Carbon and will be starring in Amazon's adaptation of Hanna. Finally, Kinnaman stated two weeks ago to TVGuide that he doubted he was returning as Takeshi Kovacs due to the book's sequel, Broken Angels, which is completely different in terms of scenery, sleeves, and scenarios when compared to Altered Carbon Season 1.

To Kinnaman's credit, he didn't confirm he wasn't going to be back, and it's not like the actor showing up in Season 2 is completely out of the question. Kinnaman could show up with Ortega as the actual Ryker, or be featured in some unseen moment from Season 1. While Kinnaman isn't confident he's returning, he's absolutely down to return for a potential Season 2 provided it's as good as his first time on the show:

Altered Carbon Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix. Check out what else is coming to the streaming service with our Netflix guide, and for more information on upcoming television shows in general, hit up our midseason premiere guide. For more streaming options, take a look at our 2018 Amazon Prime schedule.

In the past few years, Netflix has quickly become a hub for fascinating and original TV programming. While it started with shows like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, all genres are now being explored by the streaming service. This includes sci-fi, as the drama Altered Carbon recently released its first season for Netflix subscribers. Based off the acclaimed novel of the same name, Altered Carbon is an unsettling adventure and cautionary tale for the digital age. The new series contains a ton of nudity and violence, and showrunner/creator Laeta Kalogridis recently opened about why there is so much flesh on screen. She said,

This really does make complete sense. Because the characters of Altered Carbon are able to jump into new bodies (aka sleeves), concepts like modesty are all but extinct. Since its not actually their body, characters are more willing to walk around in the buff and not worry about being embarrassed. After all, they could just go get another sleeve if they so choose.

Having so much nudity either at both the forefront and periphery of Altered Carbon helps keep the audience in the dystopian world. This type of liberation is such a stark transition from our world, and helps hammer in how fundamentally differently the characters in Altered Carbon think about their bodies.

Laeta Kalogridis' comments to Gamespot help to illuminate some of the conversations surrounding Altered Carbon. While the nudity is purposeful and moves the narrative forward, fans just can't get over how ripped Joel Kinnaman is. Since he's starring as protagonist Takeshi Kovacs, Kinnaman is the focus of a ton of the show's nude scenes. This includes him waking up in the body in the first episode, to having steamy love scenes with the other characters. But Kalogridis and the team behind Altered Carbon have their own reasons behind this choice, as it helps to service the world building of the sci-fi series.

You can catch the entirety of Altered Carbon Season 1 streaming now on Netflix. In the meantime, check out our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch, and our cancellation list to see if your favorite show got the chop last year.

Nearly four years after saying goodbye to Detectives Stephen Holder and Sarah Linden on The Killing, fans will one day soon get a chance to see stars Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos sharing the screen together again. Kinnaman and Enos have signed on to star in the upcoming Amazon action thriller Hanna, a TV adaptation of the enjoyable 2011 film of the same name. But don't expect them to be partnered up this time.

The TV iteration of Hanna, as it went for the feature, will focus on a highly dangerous teenage girl who is raised by her father to be an extremely badass assassin. And speaking of Hanna's father, that's precisely who Joel Kinnaman has been tapped to play. (Eric Bana took the part in the film.) As Erik, Kinnaman will play a soldier who has survived many battles and aims for his daughter to learn a similar set of survival skills, with the pair staying in the remote forests of Poland.

On the other side of the lawful spectrum, Mireille Enos will be playing a CIA agent who goes by the name Marissa. (She was played in the film by Cate Blanchett.) According to TVLine, Marissa is an ambitious woman, which will almost certainly help in her current quest to track Hanna down. While details are scarce beyond those, we can almost definitely expect to see Erik and Hanna emerging from their wooded setting with some lethal ferocity, and if we're lucky, we'll get to see Erik and Marissa getting into the kind of throwdown that Kinnaman and Enos likely never would have been a part of on The Killing.

Hanna has been in the works for almost a year now, and Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos' castings definitely make for the project's biggest news story yet. It was also announced that the title role of Hanna will be played by Esme Creed-Miles, who is perhaps best known for portraying Shirley Temple in Harmony Korine's Mister Lonely. The film's co-writer David Farr will be writing the pilot's script, and it will be directed by Sarah Adina Smith, who helmed episodes of HBO's Room 104 and an upcoming installment for Legion Season 2.

Funnily enough, Joel Kinnaman reunited with The Killing's Kristin Lehman for Netflix's Altered Carbon, which recently released to wildly varying opinions. Kinnaman also worked with Netflix on a couple of House of Cards seasons, so he's obviously comfortable with the streaming world, and he's got Suicide Squad 2 on the horizon. (Netflix was also responsible for producing the fourth and final season of The Killing.) Hanna will be Mireille Enos' second Amazon show, since she also starred in the "Father Thing" installment of Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams. Having starred on ABC's The Catch for two seasons, Enos will next be seen in Neil Gaiman's highly anticipated adaptation of Good Omens.

Since Hanna is still in the casting stages of pre-production, it's unclear when the project might actually make its way to streamers' homes. We're hoping for the end of the year, but 2019 sounds more likely. Until then, though, check out everything that'll show up before then with our 2018 Amazon schedule and our midseason premiere schedule.

For its third movie, the DC Extended Universe opted to turn its attention away from traditional superheroes and focus on criminals who are coerced into saving the world. The Suicide Squad has been a mainstay in the DC Comics universe since the late 1980s, and while the 2016 movie was a critical dud, it ultimately proved itself to be a box office success, making over $746 million worldwide. Suicide Squad 2 is now in active development, but according to Joel Kinnman, who play Colonel Rick Flag, Warner Bros is taking its time with the sequel because it doesn't want to repeat the mistakes that the first movie made. When asked when he thinks he might see a script or learn when Suicide Squad 2 starts shooting, Kinnaman answered:

Rushing a movie is never a good idea, but in this day and age when many superhero movies and other blockbusters are given firm release dates, sometimes that's just the problem that pops up. For Suicide Squad, its August 5, 2016 release date was already in place when David Ayer, the director and writer, came aboard, so he only had six weeks to pen the script so that production would begin on schedule. It sounds like Warner Bros has learned its lesson for Suicide Squad 2, as the sequel has yet to be officially dated. And as Joel Kinnaman told Collider, it's also important that Suicide Squad 2 nail down the Suicide Squad elements that worked and toss out what didn't. If stretching out the creative process results in a better follow-up, then by all means, take that extra time.

Right now, Suicide Squad 2 is reportedly expected to start rolling cameras this fall, though that could possibly change down the line. With David Ayer working on Gotham City Sirens (as well as returning for Netflix's Bright 2), Suicide Squad 2 directing duties have been passed to The Accountant's Gavin O'Connor, and The Legend of Tarzan's Adam Cozad is penning the script. Along with Joel Kinnaman reprising Rick Flag, Will Smith's Deadshot, Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, Jared Leto's Joker and Jai Courtney's Boomerang are also expected to return. It also looks like Jay Hernandez might be back as Diablo, which is interesting considering that he died in Suicide Squad. No official plot details for Suicide Squad 2 have been released, but it was reported last November that the sequel could see the team of government-supervised villains going to Kahndaq to battle Black Adam, who has been labeled a weapon of mass destruction.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for updates about Suicide Squad 2, and look through our DC movies guide to learn what other projects the DCEU has in development.

It's no secret that Netflix has forever changed the world of television. The streaming service produces a staggering amount of original programing, and has made way for its competitors like Hulu and Amazon. The newest release from the house of Netflix is the highly anticipated sci-fi series Altered Carbon. Based off Richard K. Morgan's novel of the same name, the new show is set in a futuristic dystopian world where the rich have everlasting life, thanks to a stack that keeps their consciousness and can be transferred to a new body after death. And while the central themes of the Altered Carbon TV show are the same, there are quite a few changes being made in the adaptation. Actress Dichen Lachman (Joss Whedon's Dollhouse) recently spoke to those alterations from the source material, saying:

Well, she definitely makes a great point. Considering that the novel almost completely focuses on the journey of protagonist Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman in the show), the supporting and tertiary characters got less of a focus. But Altered Carbon is an ensemble piece, and therefore characters like Dichen Lachman's Reileen are able to become more significant roles in the new TV series.

Dichen Lachman's comments come from my conversation with her at Netflix's junket in New York City, and will no doubt excite the literary fans out there. Because the Altered Carbon novel is told through the first person perspective of Takeshi, the other characters don't necessarily get a chance to shine. In particular, his sordid history as a mercenary couldn't really be explored the way it is in the show. Lachman's character Reileen, she functions mostly in Takeshi's past. So rather than simply referencing his history, fans can watch it play out. This also applied to his relationship with Hamilton alum Renee Elise Golsberry's badass character Quellcrist.

Transforming Altered Carbon into an ensemble piece will no doubt benefit the new series, as Netflix subscribers will be able to slowly peel away the layers of Takeshi's history and psyche. Rather than simply focusing on Joel Kinnaman and his general badassery, we have way more players to get to know. And these re-writes have particularly served female characters, allowing for more inclusion and representation in the new series.

Altered Carbon is currently streaming its first season over on Netflix. In the meantime, check out our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch, and our cancellation list to see if your favorite show got the chop last year.

Suicide Squad was one of the more intriguing prospects of the young DC film universe. It featured a killer cast and was coming from David Ayer, the director behind End of Watch and Fury. This villainous team-up movie promised something truly different than we had seen in any comic book film universe prior. Unfortunately, for many, the film did not live up to its potential, was poorly received by critics and received a lukewarm reception from fans. Since then, much has been made about where the film went wrong, who edited it and how much was left on the cutting room floor. When asked what he thought went wrong, actor Joel Kinnaman, who played Colonel Rick Flag in Suicide Squad, had this to say:

Joel Kinnaman's statement here to Yahoo Movies pretty much echoes one of the most common criticisms of the film. The Suicide Squad members are great, interesting characters, but they are not all metahumans. Thus having them fight a sorceress villain in the third act seems out of place. A magical CGI-fest doesn't really fit with these types of characters, and it doesn't make sense for these characters to be facing a threat with the power level of the Enchantress. Many of the villains in the Suicide Squad are Batmans foes, not Superman's, thus they should remain in that lane. Joel Kinnaman is right that they are great characters and if they are put in their proper, more grounded context, they will be far more effective.

Part of Joel Kinnaman's point is that the members of the Suicide Squad seem less dangerous and compelling when you have an ancient evil sorceress around. Harley Quinn, Deadshot and the rest can seem far more villainous and menacing when contrasted with lower powered foes and people. Director David Ayer has even admitted that Joker should have been the primary antagonist of the film. Ultimately, it seems like everyone learned a lot from the mistakes of the first film and can try something different to put the best foot forward for Suicide Squad 2.

Early rumors have claimed that The Rock's Black Adam may be Suicide Squad 2's main antagonist. While I am excited to see this character and Dwayne Johnson in the DC film universe, this could potentially replicate one of the main problems of the original Suicide Squad. Black Adam is an incredibly powered character on whom guns and baseball bats will provide little effect. Should Warner Bros. and DC go this route, they will have to be careful to keep things as grounded as possible and have the narrative make sense for these characters.

Suicide Squad 2 may begin filming soon, and is set to be directed by Gavin O'Connor. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all your DC film universe news.

Suicide Squad hit theaters to mixed reviews, but the flick made a lot of money, and one thing that people generally liked about the DC movie was its large ensemble cast of characters. With that in mind, it's no big surprise that DC and Warner Bros. are thinking about making a sequel to the original, and now we've learned it may get off of the ground sooner than expected. Here's what Joel Kinnaman had to say in a recent interview:

At the end of Suicide Squad, Joel Kinnaman's character, Rick Flag, was alive and as well as he could be considering his assignment, putting him in a pretty good position to come back for the sequel, if and when it gets off of the ground. DC currently has a slew of projects that have been announced including The Flash, Aquaman, Batgirl, a Batman solo movie... the list goes on.

If you've been keeping tabs on DC dates lately, things are kind-of a mess. Right now Wonder Woman is currently in theaters and then Justice League is on track for its release on November 17, around the holidays. After that, things get a bit murkier. The Flash solo movie was supposed to happen in the spring of 2018, but it's currently without a director and is off the DC schedule. Although it was pushed back at one point, Aquaman has moved into production and is expected to hit theaters late in 2018. We've heard that the Batman solo project or Gotham City Sirens could potentially move forward after, but those and other announced projects don't have release dates yet, so it has been unclear where Suicide Squad 2 could fit in.

However, from what Joel Kinnaman had to say to THR, Suicide Squad 2 is already in the works and being written and could get a release date much sooner than we anticipated. Kinnaman has also expressed interest in having Suicide Squad director David Ayer back to direct the project if he is able, although there's been no official announcement on the director front, yet. Ayer is currently attached to Gotham City Sirens and may direct Scarface if that franchise makes a comeback, but we'll keep you posted on the director front as Suicide Squad 2 moves forward.

Since DC's movie dates are so fluid right now, there's all manner of permutations for which upcoming movies could hit the schedule when. While we wait to find out, you can read up on what's going on with each of the studio's big releases, here. Or catch Wonder Woman in theaters, now.

By now, most people realize that TV actors who have regular gigs on popular shows make a lot of money. Really, a LOT of money. As in, these guys make more money for just one episode of TV than a significant number of us regular slobs could make in a whole year. Well, now we might know what streaming service Netflix pays some of its top talent.

A new survey from Variety has estimated the salaries for the top talent in TV right now, and those numbers include the estimated earnings for a number of big names involved in Netflix projects. And, it looks like the streaming service is sparing no expense to make the stars of its original series feel wanted. Take a look at the numbers for some of their top actors, and keep in mind that these are all per episode figures.

Wow, those are some impressive numbers. And, it would be fair to say that some of these paydays are really surprising. The estimates, which have not been confirmed by Netflix or any of the actors on the list, come from a survey that Variety did of various industry professionals who are in the know about what top TV talent gets paid nowadays, including actors, executives, attorneys, agents, managers and others who represent actors. All the numbers are for current seasons of television shows, meaning that, in many cases, the first season shows haven't even hit the streaming service yet, and some of these numbers include backend fees that the stars get paid for things like profit participation for their show. None of these numbers, though, include money earned from side business ventures like licensing, merchandising or spokesperson deals.

Well, the first thing I can say about this list is damn, Netflix was serious about getting Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel back on board for Gilmore Girls. They each netted a very healthy sum for returning to their roles as Lorelai and Rory Gilmore in the rebooted series, and I think many people would be surprised to see that they each probably made more money per episode than Kevin Spacey did in the current season for his critically lauded lead role on House of Cards.

Emma Stone and Jonah Hill are very much current movie stars, so it's no surprise that they each got an estimated $350,000 per episode for their new Netflix show Maniac. But, it might shock some people to know that Drew Barrymore, who hasn't exactly been at the top of her movie making game lately, netted so much more than Naomi Watts for the per episode earning in their respective shows, especially considering that Watts has two Oscar nominations to her name.

The biggest shock here, by far, though, would have to be the realization that Joel Kinnaman, who starred the Netflix show The Killing and was most recently seen in Suicide Squad is making the same as those big movie stars for Altered Carbon. Kinnaman only has one big movie to his name right now, and, even though he was a co-lead on The Killing, he wasn't the main focus of that series, so he's never really had his own show. Apparently, Netflix has some major faith in his ability to help pull in viewers for his new series, or they wouldn't have even considered giving him such a payday.

Well, what do you think of the list? Does it seem like everyone is getting paid the right amount of money to you, or are you convinced that someone should be getting more (or less)? Let us know in the comments below.

Have you heard that Suicide Squad hasn't necessarily received the best critical response? The cast definitely has. Now that the silver screen adaptation of DC Comics' Task Force X has finally debuted, it's abundantly clear that a sharp rift has developed between critics and fans. Nobody seems to understand that better than Joel Kinnaman a.k.a Rick Flag, who recently gave a decidedly blunt reaction to the film's negative reactions. He said:

During a recent interview with Yahoo Movies, Joel Kinnaman responded to Suicide Squad's negative critical debut and explained that his life as an actor has allowed him to let criticism roll off his back. Furthermore, he addressed the fact that the DC supervillain adventure never really intended to appeal to critics as much as fans, and as such it makes a certain degree of sense that the film has received such disparagement from professionals. Suicide Squad was fun for fans, and that's all that really matters to him.

Of course, he does make a point to emphasize that Suicide Squad has seen an almost unprecedented divide between critics and audiences. The situation got so intense that an ardent group of Suicide Squad enthusiasts even tried to shut down Rotten Tomatoes because of overwhelming negative critical response. That petition ultimately failed, but it shows that the film still has its own set of champions within the mainstream community. This seems to have become DC's shtick, as similar phenomena occurred alongside the releases of Man of Steel, as well as Batman v Superman.

Aside from that, it doesn't appear that the Suicide Squad experience has discouraged Joel Kinnaman from once again taking on the role of Rick Flagg in the future. He additionally spoke about a potential sequel, and suggested that (given a logical reason for Flag to return) he would consider signing on to a follow-up film. Looks like Rick Flag may indeed live to fight another day after all.

Ultimately it seems that Joel Kinnaman has taken the negative Suicide Squad reaction in stride. The film may have performed poorly with critics, but fans generally appear entertained, and that's what he cares about. If you haven't already, make sure to check out Suicide Squad in theaters now.

Suicide Squad introduces a whole host of new characters to the DC Extended Universe. Since we already know that some existing characters have cameos in Suicide Squad, it might make you wonder what the odds are that some Squad members may be back for other DC films. While Joel Kinnaman sounds like he'd be more than happy to make a return as Rick Flag, it doesn't sound like there are any specific plans for him at the moment.

On Friday, movie fans will be formally introduced to the Suicide Squad. And as the film is part of the DC universe and already includes an appearance by Ben Affleck as Batman as well as others, it's almost a forgone conclusion that we'll likely see this team of misfits again in some capacity. However, Joel Kinnaman tells Variety that he doesn't know if he'll be making any future appearances as Rick Flag. While he admits the opportunity is there and it sounds like he's interested, it doesn't appear anybody has called him yet.

While the audience will likely have the final say in whether there's a Suicide Squad 2, the word is that Warner Bros. has already begun development on the project. Additionally, projections are that Suicide Squad will have one of the top opening weekends of the year. There's already a good chance there will be a Suicide Squad 2, and we'd certainly expect Rick Flag to be part of that movie in some capacity.

At this point, the only other movies that are in production within the DC Universe are Wonder Woman and Justice League. The former film has finished shooting, and most of it takes place during World War I anyway, so we wouldn't expect Rick Flag to appear. The latter is currently filming, so if Joel Kinnaman hasn't received a call already, it's not likely he will. Although that film has enough new characters to deal with that adding anymore existing ones would probably be a little much.

As Joel Kinnaman says, if any of the future films require a military commander, we'd guess there's a good chance he'll end up in the part. Why bring in somebody new when you have a character the audience already knows? It's also true that we can see Viola Davis' Amanda Waller having a long-term spot in the DCEU; the character traditionally has her hands in much of what's going on the comics, and we'd expect the films to follow suit.

How can you see DC using Rick Flag in future films? Leave us your suggestions in the comments.

Acting is harder than people realize. It’s not just reading words off of a script when the director yells "action!" It requires a degree of physicality and emotional intelligence that not every profession asks of its workers. Transitioning from one role to another often requires a fairly substantial break, but that’s not what Joel Kinnaman got when going from Suicide Squad to a role in the fourth season of Netflix's House of Cards.

Sitting down with THR, actor Joel Kinnaman explained that the process of going straight from Suicide Squad to House of Cards represented a daunting and draining challenge. Here's why it was so rough:

Joel Kinnaman doesn’t just have a minor part in the fourth season of House of Cards. His character Will Conway plays a major role in the narrative of the season – a sharp counterpoint to Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood. Making the role even more difficult is the fact that – as Kinnaman explains in the interview – Will Conway’s advantage against Frank Underwood is his youthful exuberance. To properly embody the character, Kinnaman needed to maintain a sense of energy and liveliness that other characters in the Netflix series don’t necessarily need to keep up.

It obviously doesn’t help that Joel Kinnaman has just come from a physically demanding shoot on David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. As Rick Flagg – commander of the titular team of super villains – the role required Joel Kinnaman to be in top physical form and partake in a great deal of stunt work. Even a minor role in a bombastic action film requires a little bit of rest before taking on another long term project, and Kinnaman didn’t get what was planned much less the time most actors get off after a role like that.

That being said, Joel Kinnaman would go on to admit that the high quality of a series like House of Cards managed to not only keep him going, but reinvigorate his drive to produce solid work:

In the end all of the hard work seems to have paid off. The internet has consistently praised the fourth season of House of Cards, and early glimpses of Suicide Squad seem nothing short of amazing. We will just have to wait and see where Joel Kinnaman takes the character of Will Conway during House of Cards Season 5.

There’s a good chance that Suicide Squad is going to be the hit film of the summer. With Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Captain America: Civil War first and foremost on most moviegoers’ minds, the stage is set for Suicide Squad to unexpectedly wow viewers when it’s finally released in August, much like Guardians Of The Galaxy did in the same spot back in 2014. It also helps that everything associated with Suicide Squad looks maniacal and awesome, including the recently released new poster that you need to instantly gaze upon below:

There’s quite a lot to savour and fawn over with this poster, which comes courtesty of Yahoo Movies. The first of which is Jared Leto’s The Joker. So far, director David Ayer and Warner Bros.’ marketing team have done a stellar job keeping information regarding the iconic villain and his particular involvement in Suicide Squad to a minimum.

The first trailer introduced most of the Suicide Squad standing alongside each other as they set off on their task. But when it cuts to reveal Jared Leto’s Joker, he's all by himself as he tortures some unidentified victim. 

Meanwhile, the first released ensemble promotional poster didn’t include The Joker, and there have been rumors that he will be much more of a free bird in comparison to Will Smith’s Deadshot, Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang, Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flagg, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s Killer Croc, and Cara Delevingne’s Enchantress. They’re all prisoners brought together by Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller.

The new poster reinforces that idea, as The Joker stands in the middle of an X, away from the rest of the Suicide Squad posse. The others are gathered together, and, for the most part, look serious and ready for battle. All except for Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, who rather playfully waves towards us, while also wielding a baseball bat that she probably doesn’t plan on smashing many home runs with. 

Obviously, it’s still only a poster, so there’s not much to really glean from it. However, at a push, the fact that Enchantress is right at the front could be construed as confirmation that her devilish antics lead to the Suicide Squad assembling, something that’s been rumored in the past. 

Unfortunately, Suicide Squad’s August 5, 2016, release date still seems like years, rather than months, away. Thankfully though, Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice now looms on the horizon, as it will finally be with us on March 26, 2016. This will, hopefully, only incite further anticipation for Suicide Squad and the burgeoning expansion of the DC Universe. 

There was a big to-do when the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer dropped after San Diego Comic-Con. But that’s not the only DC property coming to movie theaters next year. David Ayer’s supervillain-packed Suicide Squad drops in August of 2016. They just released the footage they showed at Comic-Con, and it’s rad, and may or may not haunt your dreams in both a good and bad way.

Given the ensemble nature of the cast, some of these characters you’re already more than familiar with, while others are more out of left field, at least as far as casual fans go. So, we figured now is as good a time as any to run through the laundry list of distinctive comic book personalities that show up in the first Suicide Squad footage and that we’ll spend the next 13 months waiting to get to know better.

The big bad boss lady of the whole Suicide Squad, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) took all the supervillains she could round up, "put them in a hole, and threw away the hole." A government agent, she is not someone to be trifled with, no matter what walk of life you come from.

Not originally a comic book character, Harley Quinn first popped up in the animated Batman series, but after seeing Margot Robbie’s rendition of the Joker’s protégé/sidekick, you may very well wish this was her movie without all of those other knuckleheads around taking up valuable screen time. Alluring, insane, and vicious as hell, she may very well wind up as the breakout character of Suicide Squad.

If nothing else, this role as Captain Boomerang may very well prove that we should start letting Jai Courtney speak in his natural Australian accent. He already has more personality and charisma here than anywhere else we’ve ever seen him. Traditionally an antagonist of The Flash, as you probably gathered from his name, he’s quite skilled with a boomerang.

Played by Cara Delevingne, Enchantress is torn between using her magical, mystical powers for good and evil, though we imagine, given her current circumstances and company, she has fallen prey to her darker impulses as of late, and should be cool to watch on a big screen.

Will Smith has almost exclusively played heroes on screen, so taking a villainous turn as Deadshot is something we’re keen to see. However, the character has often been portrayed as an antihero, and from this footage he appears to be grappling with the good and bad sides of his personality. However this incarnation shakes out, he’s one of the deadliest marksmen in the world, and a snappy dresser to boot.

Fresh off of playing RoboCop, Joel Kinnaman takes the role of Rick Flagg, an elite soldier and the de facto leader of the Suicide Squad under the guidance of Amanda Waller. He starts going on these suicidal missions after most of his earlier unit was wiped out and obviously has some issues to work through.

Played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje under heavy make up, both CGI and practical, Killer Croc may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he makes up for any lack of intelligence with sheer brutality, animalistic strength, and lighting fast reflexes. He also wears what looks like a Hannibal Lector mask in this trailer, which is creepy and awesome.

Not to be confused with the mask-wearing heavy metal band, Slipknot (Adam Beach) is a former chemist-turned-supervillain with a penchant for wielding durable ropes covered in a powerful adhesive of his own creation.

As you probably guessed due to her name, Katana (Karen Fukuhara) wields a magical sword, Soultaker, which steals the essence of those she kills and stores it within the blade. Usually a hero, she has worked in conjunction with Batman before, it will be interesting to see what role she plays in Suicide Squad.

Maybe the scariest looking of the Suicide Squad, Jay Hernandez’ El Diablo has some seriously creepy face tattoos going on. Several different characters have taken the name, but the current incarnation is a former criminal who adopted the moniker after encountering an earlier version who died but was resurrected by a shaman.

You know him, you love him, he’s going to give you nightmares, Jared Leto’s Joker promises to be much different, but no less striking, than other incarnations of Batman’s most notorious foe. If anything, from the short, psychotic burst we get here, coupled with the shiny grill and face tattoos, this version of the Clown Prince of Crime may be even more twisted and brutal than any we’ve seen on screen before.

And of course, Ben Affleck’s Batman shows up for a quick ride, but we’ve been seeing quite a bit of the Caped Crusader lately. Before he gets here, he’s going to have to go through the Man of Steel, which should be a neat trick.

Suicide Squad hits theaters everywhere August 5, 2016.

Warner Bros’ upcoming supervillain-led film Suicide Squad hit a speed bump last month when Tom Hardy was forced to drop out of playing Rick Flag Jr. due to scheduling issues. With shooting scheduled to begin in April, it was crucial that they found someone soon to fill his shoes. Other actors that were previously being considered to replace Hardy included Jake Gyllenhaal, Joel Egerton and Jon Bernthal, but those didn’t pan out. However, now they might have finally found the person to play the Squad’s no-nonsense leader.

According to Latino Review, Joel Kinnaman is currently the frontrunner to play Flag in the 2016 DC film. The article reports that this was the week that the casting decision would be made, and the studio was impressed by the actor’s audition, although he still has yet to sign on. Kinnaman is most well-known for playing Stephen Holder in the AMC/Netflix series The Killing and the titular character in 2014’s Robocop reboot. If this is finalized, Kinnaman will appear alongside Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jared Leto as The Joker, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang and Carla Delevigne as Enchantress, along with possibly Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Jesses Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and Gary Sinise in an unknown role. This will be Flag’s second live-action appearance following a recurring role in Smallville played by Ted Whittall.

Unlike most of the characters in Suicide Squad, Rick Flag is not a criminal that’s been drafted onto the team to earn a reduced prison sentence or the form of leniency. Rather, he is the military officer put in charge of the team to make sure that they don’t get out of hand during these high-risk missions. Given that the movie’s lead characters are reportedly Deadshot, Harley Quinn and Joker, it stands to reason that while Flag will be important to the story, Kinnaman’s role will be a supporting one. Kinnaman may sound like a downgrade compared to Hardy or Gyllenhaal, but with Smith, Leto and Courtney among film’s star power, that allows the production to focus more on talent with its casting rather than hiring big names to get people in those theater seats. Fortunately, Flag has his own inner demons that he deals with, so Kinnaman will have plenty to explore with the character.

Suicide Squad will hit theaters on August 5, 2016. You can also see Kinnaman later this year in Knights of Cup, Child 44 and Run All Night.

It would seem that director Daniel Espinosa sees Joel Kinnaman as a kind of good luck charm. After all, their first collaboration, Snabba Cash, is what earned both of them international recognition and launched both of their careers in America. When the director helmed his first American feature, Safe House, last year, he brought Kinnaman along for the ride in a supporting role. So it was just expected that they would want to work together once again on Child 44.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that the Swedish star is now in talks to join Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace in the period piece, which is set in Soviet Russia. Based on the novel by Tom Rob Smith, the story begins in the 1950s and centers on a police officer (Hardy) investigating a string of child murders. But as he digs further into the case he discovers that his own government is keeping an eye on his every move. Should he sign on Kinnaman will play, Hardy's "ambitious and murderous nemesis," and adds that "Rapace is playing Hardy’s chameleon-like wife."

In addition to his continuing role on the series The Killing, Kinnaman landed a big blockbuster part starring as RoboCop in the 2014 remake directed by José Padilha. He also has a role in the stacked cast of Terrence Malick's Knight of Cups, alongside Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Teresa Palmer, Cate Blanchett, Antonio Banderas and many more.

Hardy and Rapace and currently working together in the Dennis Lehane adaptation Animal Rescue and production on Child 44 is expected to start this summer.

When it comes to casting biopics you can either go for similarities in appearance or you can go for acting talent so good that it would negate any aesthetic difference. If the following story is true than Bill Condon's upcoming movie about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has magically found an actor who has both.

Deadline is reporting word that Benedict Cumberbatch has been hired to play the notorious Australian journalist and that Joel Kinnaman will play his right hand man, Daniel Domscheit-Berg. It's worth noting that while the story's source is generally confident in their scoops, this particular one has a question mark in the headline, meaning that it could be incorrect. DreamWorks, which is producing the movie, wouldn't confirm either casting.

The project began back in March of 2011 when the studio first bought the rights to the books WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War On Secrecy, by David Leigh and Luke Harding, and Inside WikiLeaks: My Time With Julian Assange At The World’s Most Dangerous Website, written by Domscheit-Berg. Josh Singer, who has previously written for shows like The West Wing, Lie To Me and Fringe, is handling the script duties, and while Condon (who has his second Twilight movie coming out this November) isn't 100% confirmed to direct, it's very likely.

The film will see Assange create the WikiLeaks site, which he then used to leak classified government documents that would often contain embarrassing secrets. He is currently not only wanted in the US for the information that he leaked, but also in Sweden on charges of sexual assault.

Both Cumberbatch and Kinnaman have signed on for major franchises that have been making their way through production. First the Sherlock star will be seen in Star Trek Into Darkness, and then the Swedish star will be playing the lead role in the remake of RoboCop.

When photos emerged the other day from the Toronto set of Sony's RoboCop remake, a lot of fans were disappointed to see the all-black, somewhat generic look of Joel Kinnaman's costume. It was an update form the 1987 original, sure, but also way too similar to typical superhero costumes. The one ray of hope for a lot of fans was that these were just photos taken on the set, and maybe there would be updates in CGI or additional costume elements that just weren't captured in those photos.

Except, we've actually had evidence for a few months now that all-black was RoboCop's new look, thanks to a photo snapped at a Licensing Expo back in June, and now emerging in proper format online via Argentina's Cine1. Take a look at that poster below:

Now, for comparison, here's one of the photos of Joel Kinnaman on the set as RoboCop, snapped last week:

With RoboCop still under production, and being guided by Brazilian talent Jose Padilha, criticizing it for the look of the costume feels both premature and kind of unfair. Costumes always look bizarre out of context, when a guy is just walking between a row of trailers and lit by the sun. And who honestly cares how much this costume looks like the original RoboCop and how much he looks like Tony Stark in his armor? What will make or break the new RoboCop isn't anything we can see on the set, but what emerges in the trailers and, of course, the final film, which is currently set for release August 9 next year.

Let us know in the comments what ou think of this new RoboCop costume, and if you're still holding out hope based on what Kinnaman said in this interview, about the potential of the new costume, and how Padilha hinted that the costume might be based on actual neuroscience. Do you think all that talk will come to nothing, or will this costume look more interesting once we see it in action?

With Joel Kinnaman confirmed for the lead role, Jose Padilha set to direct and Sony on board to distribute it, the primary mysteries of the Robocop remake have been solved. But of course, Kinnaman needs a supporting cast to back him, and since he's largely an unknown actor, it's not surprising to see that the studio wants some bigger names to sign on board and join him.

A rumor at The Tracking Board-- a site with a so-so reputation for getting scoops right, so keep that in mind-- Edward Norton, Rebecca Hall and Gael Garcia Bernal are all considering roles in the film, with "strong interest" for Sean Penn to also sign on board. The roles all fit vaguely into the framework of the original story, but aren't exact matches for the previously existing characters. Norton would play a character actually named Norton, who helps bring the Robocop to life; Rebecca Hall would play the former wife of the cop Murphy who is turned into Robocop after his death, while Bernal would play his former partner who starts up a relationship with the widow. Penn's role would be a right-wing news reporter who presumably gets involved in the central plot somehow.

Will any of these people actually wind up in the cast? There's really no telling, since even if The Tracking Board has their story right, all of these actors seem so tentatively connected that anything could change. Penn, especially, tends to be incredibly picky in choosing his roles, and while the famous liberal would be a fascinating choice to play a right-winger, it's unclear if he has the required sense of humor to play off his own image. But keep these names in mind as Robocop gets closer to a production start, and if any of them turn out to be correct, you knew it all along.

Peter Weller had a pretty remarkable death scene in the beginning of RoboCop, but the truth is that for most of that movie he is pretty faceless. His cyborg helmet had the Batman effect of covering everything but his lower jaw, which, let's be honest, isn't even recognizable on your own best friends. It's not a bad thing, but apparently it is something that's going to change for the remake that is in the works over at MGM.

Joel Kinnaman, who is best known for his role in AMC's The Killing and is set to star in the remake, recently sat down with MTV and told them that the design of the suit is going to be quite different than the last time we saw the character on the big screen. "It's not going to be jaw action," Kinnaman said. "They’re still working on the suit and how it’s going to look, but the visor is going to be see-through. You’re going to see his eyes." In a way it fits in with what science the actor says will be a part of the director José Padilha's philosophy. "There's a lot of neuroscience now raising the question, 'Is all the intelligence in the human body in the brain?' and they’re finding out that, no, it’s not like that," he said. "The body has intelligence itself, and we’re much more of an organic creature in that way. It's not a control tower that does everything."

So do you like the idea of RoboCop having a mostly human face? Sound off in the comments section below.