Yesterday, Warner Bros. announced a massive slate of DC Comics films set for release between now and 2020. Of the announced titles, the one that caught my eye the most was Suicide Squad, a movie that will follow a team of incarcerated super-villains who undertake high-risk black ops missions on behalf of the United States government in exchange for reduced prison terms. It sounds a little like The A-Team, though not entirely the same of course.
I had never heard of the property before yesterday, which makes sense given I was a card collector — basketball, not Pokémon — during my formative years instead of being a comic book junkie like several of my friends. However, the description above makes me curious about the project, especially since it will be directed by David Ayer (Fury). Warner Bros.‘ announcement gave no inclination as to who might be cast in the film, but The Hollywood Reporter claims the studio is eyeing A-listers Ryan Gosling, Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie, and Will Smith to head up its antihero team.
Smith already played a trouble superhero in Hancock, a movie far more entertaining than it has a right to be, and with plenty of other action films under his belt this certainly wouldn’t be new territory for the two-time Oscar nominee. Hardy is no stranger to blockbusters either, as he took on the role of terrorist leader Bane in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight Rises.
Gosling and Robbie, however, are choices I find myself a bit more fascinated with. Gosling because he is a charismatic actor who has become Hollywood’s “It Boy” despite his highest-grossing film (Crazy, Stupid, Love) earning less than $143 million worldwide, and Robbie because she gave one of my favorite performances of 2013 in The Wolf of Wall Street and, well, she simply needs to be in more films. A key role in a DC Universe project would definitely help Robbie gain massive exposure, for better or for worse.
The Hollywood Reporter also notes Gosling has expressed trepidation toward big tentpoles in the past, turning down the title role in Warners’ 2011 comic book adaptation Green Lantern because the contract called for sequels and he didn’t want to be locked down and unable to pursue other projects.
Gosling and Robbie have legitimate acting chops, as do Smith and Hardy, so any of the four could provide an immediate quality boost for the freshly-announced film. Further, though joining a superhero tentpole can have certain drawbacks, Suicide Squad sounds far more interesting than the rest of the titles in Warner Bros.‘ stable, so it might be worth it for any combination of them to consider taking a role if they are officially offered.
