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Five years after the Suicide Squad make their theatrical debut, the officially-designated Task Force X will soon return to the big screen, this time under James Gunn’s creative vision. Among the many new characters the Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker added to the team is Abner Krill, a.k.a. Polka-Dot Man, played by The Dark Knight and Ant-Man actor David Dastmalchian. Although the public has a little under two months to go until they can see the R-rated The Suicide Squad, Dastmalchian has already seen the movie, and his reaction to it has us jazzed for its release.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with David Dastmalchian about his turn as Julian Day, a.k.a. Calendar Man, in the animated direct-to-video film Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One, but I also inquired about his other contribution to the DC Comics media landscape this year. When I asked Dastmalchian if he’d watched The Suicide Squad yet, the actor responded:
I have just gotten to see the film and it is so incredible, so mind-blowing, so beautiful, so brutal and so bold, I cannot wait for people to get to see the film. It’s something that is gonna be, I think, audiences will be roaring, and I can’t wait to get to see it live in a theater with audiences.
James Gunn revealed in February that The Suicide Squad was completed, and David Dastmalchian isn’t the only actor who’s gotten to see the movie in the months to follow. Both Flula Borg, who plays Javelin, and Joel Kinnaman, who reprises Rick Flag, also praised The Suicide Squad, with the latter saying he was “struck by how well it flowed.” The Suicide Squad marks Dastmalchian’s second time working on a James Gunn-reltaed project, having previously starred in The Belko Experiment, which Gunn wrote and produced.
With Polka-Dot Man being one of the more obscure Batman villains who has barely been explored outside of the comics, The Suicide Squad will introduce the character to a lot of people. While David Dastmalchian was unwilling to divulge any specific details on what we can expect from his version of Polka-Dot Man, he did say the following about getting to work on the 10th DCEU movie:
I’m excited to let the audience discover what Abner is all about when they go see the film because there’s so much that’s going to be a fun, surprising part of the experience of seeing him. But I will say that a band of others, a band of outsiders, a band of people who for all intents and purposes have been discarded by society, having an opportunity to do something, whether it’s by their will or not, is a fascinating story to tell. And I’m just so lucky that I get to be a part of the vision of James Gunn. It’s really otherworldly.
Polka-Dot Man is just one of many DC characters who are being brought to the cinematic realm for the first time in The Suicide Squad, with other newcomers including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Ratcatcher and King Shark, to name a few. In addition to his directorial duties, James Gunn also wrote the script and is currently working on a Peacemaker spinoff series for HBO Max. The Suicide Squad charges into theaters on August 6, but like the rest of Warner Bros’ 2021 film slate, you’ll also be able to watch it on HBO Max with no additional charge for one month.
As for David Dastmalchian, you can hear him voicing Calendar Man in Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One, which comes out on June 22. He’ll reprise that role, as well as voice Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. The Penguin, in Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two in late July rolls. Dastmalchian also stars Piter De Vries in Dune, which comes out in October.
