Over the weekend, Warner Bros. released a new trailer for Suicide Squad that continued the film”s hot streak of actually looking entertaining. From the crooning refrain of “You Don”t Own Me” to Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) playing bartender to the Squad, the trailer was full of new footage focusing on the interaction between the “heroes.” The Joker (Jared Leto) and Batman (Ben Affleck) also showed up but took a backseat to the wacky – and deadly – hijinks set in motion by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). It looks like a blast!
As is the nature of the beast with superhero movies, there are some dense layers which can make cutting a trailer that is spoiler-free a Herculean task. One that Suicide Squad may have failed. Previous trailers and posters have indicated it”s the Squad vs. the Joker…but it seems loyalties are more muddied than that.
Neither Katana nor Enchantress is part of the Squad. How do we know? Amanda Waller tells us as much in her meeting with the shadowy government forces that are funding this project. While Waller gives her spiel, the candidates for the Squad are on the wall behind her. They include Harley Quinn, Deadshot (Will Smith), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Slipknot (Adam Beach), and El Diablo (Jay Hernandez).
This lines up with the sequence where Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) is alerting the Squad to their new roles in society. In the comics, the team is kept in line using cranial bombs and I”m sure some variation of that is in play here as well. But there”s no sign of Katana (Karen Fukuhara) OR Enchantress (Cara Delevingne). So what are their roles in this mess? Let”s examine the evidence.
Katana looks like an independent player whose goals align with the Squads. How she meets up with them is a mystery, but Captain Boomerang”s awe of her skill lends credence to the theory this is the first time he”s seen her. In all shots her shots in the new trailer, Katana is standing slightly away from the group: with them, but not with them. Whatever is going on with her, though, I bet you dollars to donuts it has something to do with her sword husband.
As for Enchantress? She”s clearly talking to Amanda Waller in the ‘Queen” trailer, in the secret government meeting room.
Enchantress's alter ego – June Moone – is clearly in a relationship with Rick Flag, as seen in the same ‘Queen” trailer.
Now in the latest trailer, you can see Rick Flag in the reflection of the mirror, trying to sweet talk the Joker. You could spot that beard from a mile away.
There are a lot more plates spinning here than just “send bad guys to do a thing we need plausible deniability on.” So many possibilities! Are Enchantress and Rick Flag playing both sides? Is someone is trying to infiltrate the Joker”s operation? Does the mission involve whatever possessed June Moone? Are her and Flag still together post-transformation? And what about Katana? Where does she fit into this dysfunctional family?
I don”t know about y”all, but despite the films warts I”m pretty excited to find out!
Suicide Squad attempts to rescue the DCEU on August 5, 2016.