Could a scoundrel DC Comics character like Peacemaker ever be on the same level as Superman? How about Polka-Dot Man? Or Ratcatcher?

The man who made Rocket Racoon, Groot and Star-Lord household names thinks so. James Gunn canB次元官网网址檛 help it: He loves an outsider. ItB次元官网网址檚 the reason why when offered the chance to make a movie with any DC character he wanted, he chose not Superman but the misfits of B次元官网网址淭he Suicide Squad.B次元官网网址�

Nevermind that there was a terribly reviewed B次元官网网址淪uicide SquadB次元官网网址� movie released just five years ago. Gunn, a lifelong fan of the good-for-nothing supervillains, had his own vision: It would be a mash-up of genres and pay homage to 1960s war capers. HeB次元官网网址檇 dust off some obscure, deep cut DC supervillains that no casual moviegoer would ever be expected to know and get a giant alien starfish villain named Starro in the mix.

Warner Bros. said yes. And it wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have to be PG-13 either.

Though bold, itB次元官网网址檚 not entirely surprising: Not only had Gunn turned the B次元官网网址淕uardians of the GalaxyB次元官网网址� into A-list Avengers, he was also at the time ( and ) a free agent. While David AyerB次元官网网址檚 2016 B次元官网网址淪uicide SquadB次元官网网址� might have been a critical disaster, it was still a financial hit. In other words, a second movie, regardless of whether it was a sequel, a reboot, a re-do, or none of those things (which this is) was not out of the question.

Yes, it features some of the same actors playing the same characters, like Margot RobbieB次元官网网址檚 Harley Quinn, Joel KinnamanB次元官网网址檚 Rick Flag, Viola DavisB次元官网网址檚 Amanda Waller and Jai CourtneyB次元官网网址檚 Boomerang. But as Robbie said, GunnB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Suicide Squad,B次元官网网址� which debuts in theaters and on HBO Max on Aug. 6, is B次元官网网址渏ust a different thing,B次元官网网址� even if it does essentially bear the same name.

Otherwise the similarities are few. GunnB次元官网网址檚

B次元官网网址淭his movie is not a family film,B次元官网网址� Gunn said. B次元官网网址淢y dad would take me to see this movie if I was 12 or 13 and I donB次元官网网址檛 think it would be a big deal. But if you get younger than that, itB次元官网网址檚 kind of weird.B次元官网网址�

And already it has one big advantage over AyerB次元官网网址檚: The reviews are stellar.

B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址橳he Suicide SquadB次元官网网址� is something no oneB次元官网网址檚 ready for, but everybody needs,B次元官网网址� said John Cena. B次元官网网址淓veryone will leave the theater satisfied.B次元官网网址�

The WWE star plays Peacemaker, a deranged Captain America-type who will proudly B次元官网网址渒ill any man, woman or childB次元官网网址� to maintain the peace.

Part of that might have to do with the fact that Gunn, who wrote and directed, had free reign to do whatever he wanted, which included killing off any character he wanted, too.

B次元官网网址淛ames really knew what he wanted to make and from the pitch to the script to the pre-production, it never deviated,B次元官网网址� said producer Charles Roven.

That involved assembling both characters and actors that didnB次元官网网址檛 make immediate sense together.

B次元官网网址淚t does have this postmodern vibe,B次元官网网址� Gunn said. B次元官网网址淓ach of these superheroes came from a different genre. Bloodsport is sort of a grim, dark thing and Polka-Dot Man is from some goofy old cartoon and PeacemakerB次元官网网址檚 from a dumb 70s TV show and Ratcatcher is from almost like a B次元官网网址楽awB次元官网网址� type of movie or something. And theyB次元官网网址檙e all coming together. The actors were like that, too. They all have their own styles and different ways of going about it. And it really is my job as a director to make them all on the same page.B次元官网网址�

He called on some of his mainstays, like Nathan Fillion, who heB次元官网网址檚 been friends with since GunnB次元官网网址檚 debut B次元官网网址淪lither,B次元官网网址� and Michael Rooker, who he clicked with on B次元官网网址淕uardians.B次元官网网址� Even Sylvester Stallone (also in B次元官网网址淕uardiansB次元官网网址�) agreed to voice the dim-witted, flesh-eating King Shark. But Gunn didnB次元官网网址檛 just go with safe choices. He also cast an unknown Portuguese actor in her first American film, Daniela Melchior, as an unknown villain: Ratcatcher II. And already sheB次元官网网址檚 being singled out as making a breakthrough.

For Bloodsport, a sharpshooter character that would require not just action know-how but comedic acumen, he enlisted Idris Elba. And it was a welcome departure for the actor.

B次元官网网址淚 was a fan of his and he was a fan of my potential. He wanted me to play a character that he hadnB次元官网网址檛 seen me play,B次元官网网址� Elba said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been trying to do some comedy for years and never get a shot. I donB次元官网网址檛 know what it is about me. IB次元官网网址檓 really goofy. I dad-joke everyone to death.B次元官网网址�

Cena came aboard as Peacemaker who spars frequently with Bloodsport. Their banter, Cena said, B次元官网网址渃ame naturally.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 extremely witty,B次元官网网址� Cena said. B次元官网网址淗e has that kind of a UK flavor and IB次元官网网址檓 so much more over the top that it really does go together well.B次元官网网址�

Everyone got along famously. ItB次元官网网址檚 part of GunnB次元官网网址檚 process to ensure heB次元官网网址檚 enlisting a group of decent humans. He even called his ex-wife, Jenna Fischer, whoB次元官网网址檇 worked with Elba briefly on B次元官网网址淭he OfficeB次元官网网址� to make sure the actor wasnB次元官网网址檛 a jerk. (Fischer had only lovely things to say about Elba).

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 an interesting thing when you have a big group of often big personalities put together to see how that balances out,B次元官网网址� Robbie said. She described their dynamic as B次元官网网址渁 lot of laughing, joking.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 think thatB次元官网网址檚 why a lot of those scenes feel so real and fun. It was also like that in between takes and when we werenB次元官网网址檛 shooting. It was a really, really good group,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淭he Suicide SquadB次元官网网址� was an epic production, too, boasting the biggest sets in Warner Bros. history. (This from the studio behind modern epics like B次元官网网址淗arry PotterB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Dark Knight.B次元官网网址�)

They even finished on time and under budget. And, over the pandemic, Gunn squeezed in a Peacemaker spin-off miniseries for HBO Max.

ItB次元官网网址檚 why Gunn has gotten so much freedom from some of the biggest shops in the movie business. He was even rehired on B次元官网网址淕uardians 3B次元官网网址� in short order (which heB次元官网网址檚 been working on non-stop on the weekends). He doesnB次元官网网址檛 mind if thereB次元官网网址檚 some extra pressure now because of the successes.

B次元官网网址淚 love taking actors that people donB次元官网网址檛 know B次元官网网址� people like Daniela Melchior or even Chris Pratt back when that was happening, or Pom Klementieff B次元官网网址� and putting them on the worldwide stage, getting people to see how great they are. I love taking songs by peopleB次元官网网址� like K. Flay and GrandsonB次元官网网址� and putting it on a grand stage,B次元官网网址� Gunn said. B次元官网网址淚 love the idea that everybody has purpose and everybody has meaning, no matter how insignificant you feel.B次元官网网址�

He added: B次元官网网址淏eing able to elevate things that arenB次元官网网址檛 always propped up by society, being able to put Peacemaker on the same level as Batman and Superman is cool to me.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擫indsey Bahr, The Associated Press