SUICIDE SQUAD’S NEW CREW

Pete Davidson, Idris Elba, Joel Kinnaman + HQ!

cover, story & above image: suicide squad

BY: Dante Fresse

Suicide Squad’s new entourage is exciting, featuring Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag. Davidson enters the DC Universe as the cocky and humorous Blackguard, a skilled marksman with a combat suit that prepares him for any situation. Here’s a spoiler: Blackguard gets killed by the General in the 1987 DC Comic, Captain Atom #1. We’re all excited about Idris’ portrayal of Bloodsport, an assassin who killed Superman with a kryptonite bullet. The trailer for Suicide Squad shows clips of Elba in jail while we await his induction to Task Force X.

Suicide Squad picks up where Birds of Prey (2020) left off. Now, South America is in trouble from the exploits of Jotemheim, a Nazi-era prison and laboratory where political prisoners are, and diabolical experiments are conducted on people. Task Force X is the only unit that can stop a violent revolution in the island country of Corto Maltese. Elba was originally going to take the role of Deadshot from Will Smith, who left the franchise due to scheduling difficulties, but the director, James Gunn, removed Smith’s character from the plot out of respect for the actor. So instead, Elba filled the role of Bloodsport, adding an edge to the story as Superman’s killer.

Joel Kinnaman was nervous about picking up the role of Task Force X’s leader due to the pressure of the part. But Kinnaman found success and confidence in 2011 with the lead, Stephen Holder, in the show, The Killing, which follows “a police investigation, the saga of a grieving family, and a Seattle mayoral campaign” (IMDB) along with the story of a 17-year-old Rosie Larsen, who is found in the trunk of a submerged car. The show had a massive fanbase and launched Kinnaman’s career. Now, with Gunn directing the new Suicide Squad Kinnaman has the opportunity to lead another project and show off his acting chops.