While there are a few familiar faces from 2016’s Suicide Squad who are returning for next year’s The Suicide Squad, for the most part, the James Gunn-helmed sequel/reboot/whatever you want to call it is comprised of new people. Among the folks who’ve joined the latest round of Task Force X cinematic action is Castle and The Rookie star Nathan Fillion, and when recently asked why he joined The Suicide Squad, the actor responded:
James Gunn, one of the people in my life that when he calls I just say ‘Yes to whatever you’re about to say. It’s yes, the answer’s yes.’ James Gunn is an amazing storyteller. That guy understands story, and he loves to tell story. So when he wants to do something you know it’s gonna be fun, you know it’s gonna be satisfying.
Well, there you have it. Nathan Fillion likes James Gunn’s work so much and has had a great time working with him that if the filmmaker wants Fillion on one of his projects, the actor’s automatically game to participate. It must be nice for an actor when they manage to finding a creative mind who they can have such an enriching collaborative experience with, which Fillion talked about while being interviewed by ET Canada.
Nathan Fillion and James Gunn first worked together on the latter’s feature directorial debut, 2006’s Slither, and The Suicide Squad won’t even be their first time collaborating on a comic book movie, as Fillion voiced an alien prisoner in Guardians of the Galaxy. Fillion also cameoed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as actor Simon Williams (better known in the comics as Wonder Man) on movie posters, but those scenes were cut from the movie.
The Suicide Squad also won’t be Nathan Fillion’s first time working within the DC Comics realm. Yes, it will be his first time appearing in a live action DC project, but he’s previously voiced Vigilante in Justice League Unlimited, Steve Trevor in the 2009 animated Wonder Woman movie and Hal Jordan, a.k.a. Green Lantern, in numerous direct-to-video movies. Fillion was also a popular fan choice to bring Hal Jordan to life in the live action Green Lantern movie, although Ryan Reynolds ultimately scored that role.
As far as The Suicide Squad is concerned, like so much of the movie, details about Nathan Fillion’s character haven’t been revealed yet. However, James Gunn has debunked the claim that Fillion’s playing Arm-Fall-Off-Boy, an obscure member from the Legion of Super-Heroes in the comics whose power is exactly what his moniker indicates. When recently pressed on his role in The Suicide Squad, Fillion said it was “super, duper secret.”
What we do know is that Nathan Fillion is just one member of a large and talented ensemble. As far as familiar faces go, The Suicide Squad is bringing back Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang, Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller and Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag.
Looking at the new faces, along with David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior and Steve Agee appearing as Polka-Dot Man, Ratcatcher and King Shark, respectively, The Suicide Squad’s lineup includes Idris Elba, John Cena, Storm Reid, Peter Capaldi, Pete Davidson (who’s reuniting with Nathan Fillion on The Rookie), Taika Waititi, Michael Rooker, Flula Borg, Alice Braga, Sean Gunn, Joaquín Cosío, Mayling Ng, Juan Diego Botto, Tinashe Kajese, Julio Ruiz and Jennifer Holland.
The Suicide Squad charges into theaters on August 6, 2021, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on its development. You can learn what other DC movies are coming down the pipeline with our handy guide.
