The Actual Creator Of The Suicide Squad Is Hiding In The Trailer
The trailer for The Suicide Squad blew up the Internet today, and although it's still too early to say for certain, it looks like director James Gunn has delivered yet another fast-paced, funny comic book adaptation that will please fans. Directing any movie based on a comic book is a tall order because it already has a built-in audience with their own strongly held opinions. And The Suicide Squad is an even tougher assignment, because it comes five years after Suicide Squad already disappointed fans. But if the trailer is any indication, The Suicide Squad will help redeem the franchise.
It helps that Gunn is clearly a comic book fan who respects the source material. And one way he shows that is by giving a cameo to the creator of the modern version of the Suicide Squad. He only appears briefly in the trailer, but Gunn highlighted the cameo on Twitter shortly after the trailer dropped. Gunn had already announced the cameo back in Oct. 2020, but this is the first time we've seen it in action.
The guy who rebooted the Suicide Squad has a new job now
That's Suicide Squad creator John Ostrander standing behind new Suicide Squad member Savant (Michael Rooker). Ostrander's character is Dr. Fitzgibbon, who implants the explosive microchips into the Suicide Squad members' skulls as a failsafe measure. "It only makes sense that the actual creator of #TheSuicideSquad is the one to put the bombs in their heads," Gunn tweeted.
The Suicide Squad is much older than you might think. The supervillain team first appeared in DC Comics back in 1959. Ostrander rebooted the series back in 1987 with artist Luke McDonnell, and their work is the template for the 2016 and 2021 films. But the Suicide Squad is just one of Ostrander's contributions to comics. He's been writing comic books since 1983, and in addition to DC Comics, he's written for both Marvel and the Star Wars comics during the Dark Horse days (per Gem City Comic Con).
Gunn also mentions Ostrander's acting, which, as The Ringer notes, was his career before he switched to comic book writing. In the 1970s, Ostrander worked as both an actor and playwright in Chicago's theater scene. His play Bloody Bess was produced in 1974 and starred Dennis Franz, Joe Mantegna, and Meshach Taylor.
Bottom line, Ostrander's participation is a great sign for The Suicide Squad.