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Visionary filmmaker James Gunn pivoted from Marvel to DC with The Suicide Squad. The R-rated spectacle has been out for a week now, and fans have enjoyed dissecting every frame of its 185-minute runtime. Sylvester Stallone’s King Shark has become a fan favorite during this process, although shooting the scenes where he rips people apart sounds really gross.
While Sylvester Stallone voiced King Shark in The Suicide Squad, actor-comedian Steve Agee did the motion capture work for Nanaue on set (in addition to his onscreen role as John Economos.) And in order to show what it was like for King Shark to rip a man in two, Agee had to do the same with a prop torso. What’s more, the practical effect was achieved by said torso being filled with what they referred to on set as “pig guts.” Steve Agee spoke about his work on those sequences, saying:
I’m sure it was something a lot less toxic and disgusting, but they had this torso — well, it was like a whole body, really — and it was kind of divided in half and they would kind of string it together once they put all the goop inside. It was hooked to wires and I literally just had to hold my hands on it and kind of lift it up.
And that, cinema fans, is how you tear a man in half on screen. It sounds like a pretty gross experience for Steve Agee, although it certainly seems to have paid off in The Suicide Squad’s theatrical cut. Every gory scene featuring King Shark was cause for laughter and/or fear depending on how much you like horror.
Steve Agee’s comments to Vulture help to show the inner workings of creating a CGI character like King Shark. Luckily for James Gunn, he had plenty of experience with this ahead of signing on for The Suicide Squad. As many fans know, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Rocket Raccoon is achieved similarly through motion capture-- with Sean Gunn standing in for Rocket on set before Bradley Cooper eventually gets in the booth to voice the character.
Both of Steve Agee’s roles in The Suicide Squad can currently be enjoyed on HBO Max. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.
James Gunn definitely took advantage of The Suicide Squad’s rating, and the entire runtime is full of gnarly kills. King Shark obviously got in on the action, chowing down on human skulls and tearing through Task Force X’s enemies. And rather than relying solely on CGI, Gunn went with practical effects to help bring King Shark to life.
It should be interesting to see if/when the members of The Suicide Squad return to the DC Extended Universe. While Warner Bros. is clearly invested in Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, it’s unclear when we might see the likes of King Shark, Ratcatcher 2, and Bloodsport.
The Suicide Squad is in theaters now. Be sure to check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
