Aside from Tom Hardy’s recent departure as team leader Rick Flag, most of the cast of Suicide Squad remains intact - including includes Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Jared Leto as The Joker. As production nears its April start date, we’re learning more about the actors and characters that may be involved in the film. Viola Davis and Jesse Eisenberg have been heavily rumored to join, although their casting has yet to be official, and Deathstroke may also appear in some capacity. Now, the newest rumor is that Forrest Gump and CSI: NY star Gary Sinise is the latest actor to be connected to the 2016 blockbuster.
Sources close to the project have told CINEMABLEND that Sinise has landed a role in Suicide Squad. This lines up with a Tweet sent earlier today by Latino Review’s El Mayimbe that Sinise has possibly been approached to play General Wade Eiling.
So far all of this is unconfirmed, and Cinema Blend’s source stated they don’t believe Gary Sinise will be playing Eiling or Deathstroke - so specifics regarding the actor’s involvement are still up in the air. Sinise is currently slated to star in CBS’s upcoming Criminal Minds spinoff, which will shoot its pilot next month, so if this is true, his schedule should be open by the time principal photography on Suicide Squad starts. Although he has yet to physically appear in a superhero movie, Sinise had a voice role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as the narrator of the Smithsonian’s Captain America exhibit.
If Gary Sinise has indeed joined the film, he could be playing anyone from an established comic book character to someone created just for the film. However, Eiling would be a good fit for him, especially considering all the authority roles on Sinise’s resume. Given that the titular group in Suicide Squad performs high-risk missions for the U.S. government, it would make sense for a high-ranking military officer to be involved with their activities. Amanda Waller and Eiling worked closely together in the animated series Justice League Unlimited (voiced by J.K. Simmons), so perhaps the film would give us a similar partnership. This wouldn’t be the first time that Eiling has appeared in live-action. The antagonistic general was portrayed by Clancy Brown earlier this season on the CW series The Flash. In the comics, Eiling is an enemy of Captain Atom and the Justice League who later transfers his mind into the body of the monstrous Shaggy Man.
Suicide Squad will be released in theaters on August 5, 2016.
