Next Summer’s Suicide Squad has done a pretty good job thus far keeping their plot under wraps. This has meant that if you’re going to go digging for information (which is a thing we do here) all you really have to go on is how things look in the photos and the public filming they’ve been doing. Speaking of looks, let’s talk about Captain Boomerang’s beard.
Jai Courtney was doing promo work for this weekend’s Terminator:Genisys when he was asked about his epic facial hair by HitFix. So apparently, David Ayer himself created the Boomerang Beard (which is a phrase that needs to become a hashtag). Now that is a hands on director. Courtney explained that he came into makeup for a meeting when Ayer just grabbed the clippers:
He just picked up the clippers and started shaving me. I’d shown up quite hairy so you've got freedom to kind of move. And he just started attacking me and at first and I was like 'Ok what are we...' And he's like, 'you look like bad news. Looks like your buddy got drunk and cut your hair...' And he was like 'it's good' and left.
While it’s not clear how the wardrobe and makeup department feel about Ayer taking a set of clippers directly to one of the films stars, apparently these are things you can do when you’re in charge. So if you want to understand the type of character that Boomerang is, he is the type of guy who will let his buddy get drunk and then cut his hair. That actually says quite a lot about Boomerang’s judgement. He apparently has none.
While Courtney is trying to make light of the situation, it’s also fairly clear that he really doesn’t care for the beard. He says he doesn’t mind it but you can tell by the way he says that it wasn’t his idea, and that he’s ready to be done with it that he would have shaved it off in the middle of the interview if he thought he could get away with it. Courtney seems to have put his trust in the filmmakers but this isn’t the first time he’s been less than sure about his character.
Filming on Suicide Squad has left the public streets of Toronto so we have no idea where they are in the process, and by extension how long Courtney will have to continue to deal with his beard. Hopefully he won’t have to deal with it too much longer. And hopefully they won’t need to call him back for reshoots and make him grow it again.
While Jai Courtney may not like wearing the beard it is an absolutely impressive collection of facial hair. By giving Boomerang a unique look, we certainly get the impression of a unique character which is important when throwing this eclectic collection of villains together for the first time. When you need to introduce so many characters to the audience all at once it’s important to convey as much information as possible without having to waste valuable run time with explanations and dialogue. The beard says a lot all by itself.
We’re looking forward to meeting Captain Boomerang, and his beard, next August.
