The DC Extended Universe is a tricky place. While DC Studios is trying to do some serious world building in a relatively small amount of time, only Wonder Woman has been released and given critical acclaim. All the others have been a bit of a letdown following their hype, including David Ayer's Suicide Squad. Despite a fantastic trailer and strong cast, studio interference and reshoots resulted in a finished product that was decidedly "meh". But a sequel is on the way, bringing back the motley crew of villains for another adventure. Now it looks like Suicide Squad 2 might just revive a fallen member of the team: Jay Hernandez's El Diablo.
While rumors of El Diablo's resurrection began shortly after the Suicide Squad arrived in theaters, even Jay Hernandez dropped hints that he could return to the shared universe in the future. A new photo of the cast seems to strongly hint at his return to the DCEU. Suicide Squad actor Joel Kinnaman recently posted a photo training at the gym with the male cast to get back into shape-- including Jay Hernandez. Check it out.
If the cast is doing some group exercise ahead of Suicide Squad 2, perhaps that means Jay Hernandez will once again grace the silver screen as the pyrokinetic gangbanger. His sacrifice at the end of the film showed a moment of true selflessness and heroicism, and the sequel would be remiss to just write him off and not bring back "Hot Stuff" for another round.
El Diablo was one of the most interesting characters in Suicide Squad 2, following Deadshot and Harley Quinn. Real name Chato Santana, he spent his time in Belle Reve prison in solitary confinement. After accidentally killing a mass of inmates at his former prison (as well as his family), Santana is racked with self hatred and guilt over his explosive abilities. As such, he spends the majority of Suicide Squad abstaining from the action, while the other villains rushed in for an opportunity to bust some skulls.
But eventually El Diablo came through for his new family, and used his powers to battle Enchantress' brother Incubus. He seemingly perished in the conflict, as did the mute villain he was going up against. But the way El Diablo seemingly died seemed suspect. He was blown up from an explosive, but the guy was basically pure fire at that point. It would stand to reason that he'd be immune from this, or perhaps be able to recover from his injuries one day. We'll just have to wait and see.
It's currently unclear exactly what Suicide Squad 2 will be about. Viola Davis' Amanda Waller will no doubt have another mission for the team, but something tells me it won't go down quite as easily. With Deadshot's movie seemingly on hold, Will Smith's character will likely continue to be the co-lead of the film alongside Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. Additionally, Ben Affleck has been rumored to show up in the sequel, in what may be one of his final appearances as Batman before he departs the DCEU.
Suicide Squad 2 will be directed by Gavin O'Conner, and is set to arrive sometime in 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your trips to the movies this year.
