Every 2016 Character Missing From The Suicide Squad

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Suicide Squad.

What characters from the 2016 Suicide Squad movie are missing from the The Suicide Squad? The follow-up film by writer/director James Gunn boasts the largest ensemble of DC Comics characters ever gathered for a single film. Despite The Suicide Squad‘s impressive cast, it only brought back four actors and characters from the cast of the original movie.

The first Suicide Squad movie was controversial for a number of reasons. Chief among them were reports of studio interference during filming and editing, with executives at Warner Bros. wanting a lighter, more comedic film in the same vein as Guardians of the Galaxy. This conflicted with the ideas of director David Ayer, whose darker vision did not please fans of the Suicide Squad comics. There was also considerable fan backlash against the film’s take on The Joker (Jared Leto) and the costume worn by Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.

Ironically, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn was hired to helm the The Suicide Squad after Ayer walked away from the project. While the follow-up film has been praised by fans and critics alike, The Suicide Squad‘s box office performance hasn’t matched the first movie’s, due to surging COVID-19 numbers in the United States and a simultaneous release on the HBO Max streaming service. However, some fans are still wondering if Gunn’s film is a true sequel to the first movie or a reboot, given how most of the first movie’s cast did not return for The Suicide Squad. While some of this was according to Gunn’s design, there are other factors at play as well.

Deadshot (Will Smith)

Played by Will Smith and described as the most dangerous hitman in the world, Floyd “Deadshot” Lawton was one of the central characters of the 2016 Suicide Squad movie. Lawton is also one of the quintessential Squad members in the comics and James Gunn did ponder bringing him back while working on the script for The Suicide Squad. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts meant Smith couldn’t return as Deadshot, and it was ultimately decided to use a different character with a similar background rather than recast the role. This reportedly led to Idris Elba being cast in the role of Bloodsport, who had a similar skill set to Deadshot, but was notably different as a character.

The Joker (Jared Leto)

One character James Gunn had no intention of bringing back for The Suicide Squad was the Clown Prince of Crime, saying that it didn’t make sense for the Joker to return. Ignoring the antipathy audiences felt for Jared Leto’s tattooed and shiny-grilled take on Joker, it beggars belief that Amanda Waller would ever let him loose or depend upon him as a covert operative, even with a bomb in his head. Given that, there was no obvious way to bring him into the story. There was also the matter of Harley Quinn having grown beyond the Joker, and there being no chance of him being anything but a distraction in an ensemble movie featuring her character.

Dexter Tolliver (David Harbour)

Those who haven’t seen Suicide Squad since it was first in theaters in 2016 may be surprised to recall that David Harbour had a role in it. The popular actor, now famous for playing Jim Hopper on Stranger Things and the Red Guardian in Black Widow, had a minor but important role in Suicide Squad as Dexter Tolliver. A National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, he helped Amanda Waller with selling her idea for turning Belle Reve inmates into Task Force X to the Pentagon. While it might have been possible to bring the character back to discuss the Corto Maltese mission and its importance with Waller in The Suicide Squad, it seems unlikely that Harbour would have been available given his current busy schedule.

Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje)

The victim of a mutation that gave him a crocodile’s skin, Waylon “Killer Croc” Jones was far gentler and smarter than his bestial frame suggested. Croc was played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who was not in a hurry to return to the role thanks to the intensive makeup work that the part required. It is unknown if Gunn decided to use King Shark instead of Killer Croc because of Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s reluctance to return, but it seems safe to say that it would have been redundant to have two man-eating beast-men in The Suicide Squad.

El Diablo (Jay Hernandez)

A powerful pyrokinetic who was racked with guilt after accidentally killing his wife and children with his powers, El Diablo was one of the more conflicted members of the first Suicide Squad team. It was unlikely that he would return for The Suicide Squad, given that he sacrificed himself to defeat Incubus and the Enchantress in the climax of the first film. While such resurrections are not impossible in the world of comics, there was little reason to bring him back for another outing.

Slipknot (Adam Beach)

Another character always unlikely to return in The Suicide Squad due to their having died in the first film was Slipknot. A master of ropes and knots who was said to be able to climb anything, he was primarily notable as the first person to die on Task Force X’s inaugural mission, after having been tricked in to trying to escape by Captain Boomerang, who used Slipknot to test if Amanda Waller’s claims to have implanted bombs in their necks was a bluff. Unfortunately for Slipknot, it was not.

Katana (Karen Fukuhara)

Acting as the personal bodyguard of Col. Rick Flag, Katana is generally agreed to have been one of the characters most ill-served by Suicide Squad. Played by Karen Fukuhara, it is unknown if Katana was left out of The Suicide Squad because of James Gunn’s desire to focus on supervillains in the follow-up film or because of Fukuhara’s not being available due to her role as Kimiko Miyashiro on The Boys. In either case, Katana and her soul-draining sword would have been incongruous to the more comedic tone of Gunn’s film.

June Moone/Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) & Incubus (Alain Chanoine)

The plot of Suicide Squad centered around the Enchantress and her efforts to free the spirit of her brother, Incubus. The movie ended with both Enchantress and Incubus seemingly destroyed and Enchantress’ host, archeologist June Moone, freed from her control for good. Given that, it is unsurprising that none of them returned for The Suicide Squad.

The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Batman (Ben Affleck)

Both Batman (Ben Affleck) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) had quick cameos in the original Suicide Squad. The two heroes were both shown in flashback scenes, capturing Deadshot and Captain Boomerang respectively. Given how the 2021 movie was firmly focused on the supervillains making up Task Force X, it seems unlikely James Gunn would have brought the Justice League members back in The Suicide Squad, even if Affleck and Miller were not busy with filming the upcoming The Flash movie.

About The Author

Matt Morrison
(1835 Articles Published)

Matt Morrison has been writing about comics since before the word
“blogging” was coined. He got his start writing for the
legendary DC Comics digital fanzine Fanzing,
before receiving his own column, The Mount. Since then he has gone on
to write for over a dozen websites, including 411
Mania, Comics
Nexus and The Cult of Nobody. He holds both an MS in Information
Science from the University of North Texas and a BFA from the
University of Texas at Arlington. Known as a font of comic book
history trivia, he has delivered lectures on the history of American
Comic Books, Japanese Manga, Doctor Who, and Cosplay at over a dozen conventions
and served as an Expert In-Residence for a course on Graphic Novels
for Librarians at the University of North Texas. In addition to his
work for Screen Rant, Matt is currently the Editor In Chief of
Kabooooom.com and writes reviews for No
Flying, No Tights – a graphic literature and anime review site
aimed at teachers and librarians. He also maintains a personal blog –
My Geeky Geeky Ways –
which hosts his extensive episode guide for the television series
making up The Arrowverse as well as his
comedic Let’s Play videos. What little spare time he has is
devoted towards acting, role-playing, movie-riffing and sarcasm. You
can follow his adventures on Twitter, @GeekyGeekyWays.

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