Having been given the fast-track from Warner Bros., fans didn’t have long to consider that a big screen take on the Suicide Squad was in development before the cameras rolled. Official images have been offered by director David Ayer, but the only footage featuring the cast of DC Comics villains in action has come from onlookers and bystanders, not the studio. That’s changed now that WB released a sizzle reel/initial trailer for the film, during their Comic-Con 2015 panel.
We’ve run down a list of the basic events and memorable moments in the footage, but a few smaller moments may prove more telling than some fans realize. Not only for the twists and villains in store with Suicide Squad, but where the DCEU (the DC Extended Universe) as a whole is headed. We’ve put together a list of shots and dialogue from the trailer that viewers may want unpacked.
Of course, our list is not all-inclusive, if you other details to call out, we invite you to share them in the comments after reading our picks!
Supernatural Abilities
When the footage opens with Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) informing her colleagues that she has assembled a team of “the worst of the worst,” one man comments on the rumors surrounding her motley crew. Specifically, that they have “abilities.” Fans have wondered for some time if the DC movie universe would be taking steps into the mystic or superhuman (outside of Superman), considering that several of the villains in Suicide Squad owe their powers to mystical means.
Concept art shown in Hall H before the movie footage began featured El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) sitting cross-legged as fire burned cleanly from his hands, implying that at least at the conceptual stage, the character’s pyromancy was going to be adapted. Without an explanation for Killer Croc’s rare skin condition and strength, or the absence of Boomerang’s… boomerangs (blades of conjured energy in the New 52), these supernatural abilities could be adapted in full.
The Birth of Enchantress
Following on the confirmation of strange ‘abilities’ exhibited by villains in the DC Universe, Amanda Waller wonders aloud if the emergence of the Man of Steel has signaled others to do the same, drawing phenomena to the surface. These words aren’t set against a mutant or superhuman, but a shot of a young woman (Cara Delevingne) exploring an underground cave. For casual viewers, there’s little at play. But for those familiar with ‘Enchantress’ – the character Delevingne is playing – it could be a glimpse of her own origin story.
Beginning as June Moon/Moone, the young woman soon encounters a mystical force which takes up residence in her body – blessing her with the alter ego of Enchantress. It is this oftentimes malevolent villain who poses a threat, unleashing otherworldly destruction. Earlier rumors claimed Enchantress would be the asset or weapon the Squad will be sent to retrieve for Waller, but this single shot (and one of Delvingne emerging from water seen later in the footage) hints that June’s appearance in Enchantress form may not be a total surprise.
“I Started a Joke…”
The eerie music of the first Suicide Squad footage may seem like par for the course these days; turning a typically lighthearted tune into a painful, unsettling ballad with a slower pace and tortured vocals (think Age of Ultron‘s cover of Pinocchio‘s “No Strings on Me”). But the song used to lend an unnatural tone to the footage is yet another nod to the highly-anticipated role from Jared Leto – “I Started a Joke” by The Bee Gees.
The Legend of The Batman
It has become increasingly clear just how quickly Warner Bros.’ shared movie universe would be introduced, with a confirmed Batman cameo in Suicide Squad, and rumors that Joker will make a brief appearance in Batman V Superman as well (a theory supported by the latest BvS trailer). Fans have now seen the finished look at Batman atop Joker and Harley’s car, but it isn’t the only sign that the DC movie universe is feeling the emergence of Batman.
A single shot of what looks to be an armed thief in a panda costume is followed by one of another armed gunman sporting – you guessed it – a Batman mask. It’s hard to tell if the mask has been adopted for a similar shirking of society’s laws (though for different means), or simply to obstruct his face during the crime. Either way, it seems a vigilante has proven popular enough to see his mask being sold on store shelves.
Soul Conjuring Katana
Even devoted followers of the upcoming live-action Squad may not know much about Katana (played by Karen Fukuhara), since her inclusion in the story came as a complete surprise when the first official cast photo was released. But she is much, much more than a sword-wielding martial artist in the pages of DC Comics. Of her twin katanas, only one is known as The Soultaker – named for its ability to draw the souls of those it kills, and contain them within the blade.
Even if Suicide Squad takes the supernatural route, it’s unlikely that Katana’s movie blade will, like its comic counterpart, conjure souls within it to come to Katana’s aid, including her deceased husband. However, a shot in the trailer seems to show her plunging the sword into her own stomach, which implies the Squad’s mission lives up to the group’s name. If all roads seem to be ending, it’s not out of the question for Katana to pass her own soul into the Soultaker – and we know that not every villain will be surviving this outing.
