The DCEU has had a rocky path from the very beginning.Man of Steelwas never intended to be the first chapter of an extended universe, but the Superman origin story had to be repositioned as theIron Manof the DC Universe following the success ofThe Avengers.Batman v. Superman: Dawn of JusticeandSuicide Squadrepresented early failures of Warner Brothers trying to force a cinematic universe upon an audience that hadn’t fallen in love with the characters yet. In fact, the most successful recent DC projects,JokerandThe Batman, take place in their own standalone continuities.
However, Warner Brothers seems to be taking another stab at a connected universe by hiring their ownKevin Feige. It was recently announced thatJames Gunn and Peter Safran were named Co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of DC Studios, a new venture that will develop a 10-year plan for the future of the franchise. Given the reaction to the cancelation ofBatgirl, the return ofHenry CavillasSuperman, and the controversies withThe Flash, Gunn and Safran will have a lot on their plate in the coming years.
Gunn Knows How to Make Continuity Work
However, Gunn is a veteran of comic book lore who knows how to work around continuity. HisGuardians of the Galaxyfilms were able to retain their own identity without contradicting any of the MCU’s ongoing storylines. He had an even more difficult task on his hands withThe Suicide Squad, as its predecessor has been one of the worst-reviewed comic book movies in history. Gunn was able to retain the aspects of the firstSuicide Squadthat had potential, yet swung in his own direction. He proved that continuity could be a benefit and not a burden.
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The Suicide Squadis only a sequel in the most basic sense. Gunn didn’t have to explain the premise of what Task Force X was because the audience was already familiar with it, which gave him the opportunity to jump right into the story quickly. Gunn almost lovingly mocks what came before:Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller was a self-serious extremist in the first film, but here she’s just a bored executive who is now annoyed with the quirky criminals that she employs.
The Potential in Character
Despite the intensely negative reaction toSuicide Squad, everyone seemed to agree thatMargot Robbie’s performance as Harley Quinn was everything that fans ofBatman: The Animated Seriescould have asked for. She got an excellent spinoff of her own withBirds of Prey, which sadly underperformed, as it was released shortly before COVID-19 shutdowns began. While Gunn wasn’t involved withBirds of Prey, he retained the direction of the character thatCathy Yanhad taken. Harley isn’t treated as a sexual object, and even finds joy in making toxic men like the dictator Silvio Luna (Juan Diego Botto) pay for their crimes. It seems like Harley hatesJared Leto’s Joker as much as everyone else did.
Gunn also understood the potential of Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman). Although Flag was given a turgid romantic storyline in the first film, the idea of a military veteran who has to question his loyalties and service was an interesting one. Gunn spent more time developing this aspect of the character as Flag learned about the United States military’s secret experiments. While Flag’s sour attitude stuck out like a sore thumb in the first film, it was amusing to see his constant annoyance with characters like King Shark (Sylvester Stallone) and Peacemaker (John Cena).
With Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Gunn essentially gave the audience a soft reboot of Deadshot (Will Smith). Introducing a new character allowed Gunn to have freedom, but he used some of the qualities that had made Deadshot interesting in his conception of Bloodsport.The Suicide Squadshows Bloodsport’s struggles as a father, and while the first film basically treated this as the only reason to care about the character, Gunn made it feel essential to Bloodsport’s progression. He learns to accept the responsibilities of fatherhood as he becomes a leader of his quirky family in Task Force X.
Improving on the Past
Gunn was able to take some of the stylistic choices thatDavid Ayermade in the first film and revamp them. The insertions of music felt odd inSuicide Squad; why did we need a minute of “Without Me” when the squad is getting changed into their uniforms? Gunn was able to indicate the tonal differences with fun soundtrack choices that made sense within the context of the story and themes. “Folsom Prison Blues” is a great way to introduce characters that are coming out of prison, and “Point of Know Return” speaks to the gray morality of the characters. Gunn’s choices felt more unique; he wasn’t just using familiar tracks like “Bohemian Rhapsody” or “Fortunate Son” after they’d already appeared in countless other films.
The DCEU’s early films had potential that sadly just wasn’t taken advantage of. That being said, ditching the entire continuity and rebooting the universe would be a mistake given the numerous ideas, storylines, and characters that did have potential.Suicide Squadhas a great concept, and Ayersadly wasn’t able to make the film that he had envisioned.The Suicide Squadshowed that Gunn could continue what came before without sacrificing his stylistic impulses. If this is the direction that the DCEU is going, then it has a bright future ahead of it.
