Superhero movies are a tricky thing. Arguably the most popular genre in the business and capable of making insane amounts of money, there's a ton of pressure involved with adapting comics into live-action blockbusters. As such, the genre is constantly in flux, with directors filming tons of extra scenes, and making liberal changes to each cut before the theatrical release. This was certainly the case for David Ayer's Suicide Squad, which went through massive reshoots reportedly due to pressure from the studio. Characters like Jared Leto's Joker were very cut down when it arrived in theaters, and he's not the only one to suffer this fate. Because an unseen clip from Suicide Squad just revealed that Jay Hernandez' tragic character Diablo originally survived the final conflict with Incubus and Enchantress.
This revelation comes from the sizzle reel of VFX composer Francisco Franco, who worked heavily on the effects for Suicide Squad. His video highlights how Franco helps to add layers and colors to scenes requiring CGI, from subtle changes to huge action sequences. One of the shots includes the Suicide Squad after their victory over Enchantress, where Franco revealed he seemingly had to digitally remove Diablo in post, presumably because David Ayer and the producers thought it would be more powerful kill off the character, giving the criminal a truly heroic moment.
You can see a screenshot from the video below, featuring Diablo just right of Jai Courtney's Captain Boomerang and Margot Robbie's already iconic Harley Quinn. Check it out.
Poor El Diablo. While actor Jay Hernandez may have shot the final scenes of Suicide Squad, his character ultimately ended up all burned out. But that doesn't mean he's gone forever. That is, if Suicide Squad 2 truly comes to fruition.
Instead of joining up with his new family and kicking some Enchantress ass, El Diablo gets a far more heroic and tragic end in Suicide Squad's final epic battle. For the first time, the character truly unleashes his pyrokinetic abilities, and transforms into a giant, flaming, skeleton monster. He takes on Enchantress' giant brother, while the rest of the Squad attempts to end their "machine", and rip the heart from Enchantress' chest. But their explosive device ultimately kills Diablo, Lieutenant Edwards, and the villainous Incubus. We'll just have to see if El Diablo is resurrected for Suicide Squad 2. A giant fire monster shouldn't really be vanquished by an explosion, so let's keep our fingers crossed.
The next installment in the DCEU is Aquaman on December 21st. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
