We”re still a few months out from Suicide Squad, but everyone involved with the project must be feeling the pressure. With Batman v Superman faltering as badly as it did, suddenly the fate of DC Films is resting heavy on these anti-heroes shoulders. As such, the publicity circus is already grinding up into gear. But some of what”s being said is just…weird.
In the recent print issue of Entertainment Weekly (as first reported by DailySuperhero), the women of Suicide Squad got bite-sized pull quotes for a round-up entitled “Meet Some Not-So-Nice Girls.” Viola Davis talked about playing Amanda Waller as a force to be reckoned with even without superpowers. Karen Fukuhara spoke to relating to Katana instantly. But then Cara Delevingne said this about director David Ayers encouraging her to dig into Enchantress” feral side:
David asked me to go into a forest under a full moon and take my clothes off to feel what nature felt like, to feel what it felt like to be an animal. And I did it. It didn't sound that weird to me.
Which is kind of weird and a tired stereotype about witches, but hey? It”s not like the movie version of Enchantress is adhering to her comic counterpart. Ayers and Warner Bros. are clearly playing it fast and loose with this character.
But then there”s what Margot Robbie has to say about the way she was directed to play this iteration of Harley Quinn.
Whenever I would be inclined to play into the comedy or play her more likable, [David Ayers] always direct me the other way. He wanted her to be pretty vicious.
Part of Harley”s appeal is that she”s likable. She”s definitely not a good guy; she”s certainly not agreeable. But even when she”s robbing banks or aggressively interrogating someone, she”s affable. Making Harley Quinn vicious instead of a snarky anti-hero would be like making Superman into some kind of rampaging monster who can only be quelled by discovering his enemies” moms have the same first name as his mom. Who would do such a thing?