During a panel for Fox's
Deputy at the Television Critics Association press tour,
Suicide Squad director David Ayer addressed his role in the DC Extended Universe moving forward and confirmed that with Birds of Prey on the way, his planned
Gotham City Sirens movie (which would have included Catwoman and Poison Ivy) has been put on hold for the time being.
"No, I think it’s on pause," he told journalists in attendance a little earlier today.
The subject of James Gunn's
The Suicide Squad was also briefly touched on and Ayer, who has supported the director's plans on social media, claimed that he could have been the one to take the helm of the next instalment of the franchise.
"I had a chance to do it, but I went another way," he says.
Gunn's movie will be a reboot of sorts with some links to the previous instalment (mostly just the characters, it seems), but even if he doesn't get his hands on Task Force X again, Ayer seems confident that he'll get to take charge of another comic book adaptations somewhere down the line.
"I love the world creation of it and I love the power of the IP and the fans. It’s dangerous. It’s like juggling chainsaws, but I am drawn to it and it’s definitely an arena I’ll play in again."
Needless to say, the man who declared "F**k Marvel!" at the Suicide Squad world premiere probably won't be offered a job by Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios in the near future...
Hit the "View List" button to check out a breakdown of everything
we know about The Suicide Squad cast and who they're playing!
John Cena
John Cena made a name for himself in WWE as one of the company's most popular (and divisive) wrestlers. In recent years, he's rarely stepped into the squared circle as his priority has instead become a career in Hollywood just like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson before him.
Cena has received positive reviews for his performance in movies like
Bumblebee,
Blockers, and
Daddy's Home 2, while he will soon be seen in
Fast & Furious 9 and
The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle.
Rumour has it that Cena will play Peacemaker, a character who loves motorbikes and guns...and vigilantism. It's easy to imagine this being a comedic role for the former WWE Champion, and the anti-hero has some history with Task Force X after being recruited by Amanda Waller to join a group known as the Shadow Fighters.
David Dastmalchian
Things have been going well for David Dastmalchian since he first showed up in
The Dark Knight, and in recent years, he's made a couple of memorable appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as part of the
Ant-Man franchise and also shown up in the likes of
Gotham and
The Flash on TV.
In the past, reliable sources have claimed that Dastmalchian will star as Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad. He's an obscure Batman villain who uses the polka-dots on his costume as weapons.
Joaquín Cosio
Joaquín Cosio voiced Scorpion in
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and has a long list of acting credits to his name, including
Quantum of Solace,
Narcos: Mexico, and
The Strain (not to mention a variety of films and TV shows in his home country of Mexico).
Unfortunately, we have no idea who he's playing as of right now, as he was an unexpected addition to this impressive ensemble.
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion is an actor with a lot of geek cred to his name, and you probably don't need us to list the many, many movies and TV shows he's appeared in since starring in Joss Whedon's
Firefly.
However, those of you who haven't been keeping a close eye on his career will still almost certainly recognise him from
Castle,
Santa Clarita Diet, and
Modern Family! Once again, his role is a mystery.
Mayling Ng
Mayling Ng's name may not be instantly recognisable, but she's a black belt Martial Artist and Fitness Champion who represented Singapore in the USA in 2013. A legitimate badass, she appeared in
Wonder Woman as the Amazon you probably remember seeing leaping off that cliff in all the trailers!
It's possible she's playing that same Amazon here, but seeing as she mostly did stuntwork on that DC Comics adaptation, it's possible Ng has a new role in
The Suicide Squad. One very interesting theory is that she's playing Orana, an Amazon who once defeated Diana Prince for the title of "Wonder Woman."
Sean Gunn
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sean Gunn plays Ravager member Kraglin and performs all of Rocket's movements and lines on set. It's not exactly a shock that he's following his brother to the DC Extended Universe, but his role is a mystery and time will tell whether he'll don another mo-cap suit or play a human character presumably based off another obscure DC Comics supervillain.
Flula Borg
Flula Borg is a German comedian whose acting credits are mostly made up of voiceover roles in shows like
Archer and
Tangled: The Series as well as Disney movie
Ralph Breaks the Internet.
We don't know the name of his character, but it's said he will play a "love interest" to one of the members of the team so don't be surprised if he's mostly used in a comedic capacity here.
Idris Elba
Idris Elba is one of the best actors working in Hollywood today and after making a name for himself in shows like
The Wire and
Luther, he made the leap to the big screen to star in everything from
Thor: Ragnarok to
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.
Originally cast to replace Will Smith as Deadshot, something changed along the way and he's now playing a completely different character. That role has never actually been revealed, but the prevailing theory/rumour is that he'll be suiting up as Bronze Tiger.
Pete Davidson
Pete Davidson made a name for himself on
Saturday Night Live (and by dating insanely hot women), but he's since attempted to enter the world of acting with roles in
What Men Want and
The Angry Birds Movie 2 to his name.
We have absolutely no idea who he'll play in
The Suicide Squad, but there's been (baseless) speculation on social media that he could wind up replacing Jared Leto as The Joker!
Storm Reid
Storm Reid is a fairly young actress who made a name for herself when she appeared in
A Wrinkle in Time. Since then, she's starred in critically acclaimed Netflix docudrama
When They See Us.
According to the trades, Reid will play the daughter of Idris Elba's character so that presumably makes her the Bronze Tiger's child. Well, unless Gunn has indeed decided to recast both Deadshot and his daughter for this movie, but that seems unlikely based on what we've been hearing.
Juan Diego Botto
The Suicide Squad should serve as a breakout role for Juan Diego Botto, especially as he's not really done a whole lot outside of his native country of Argentina. He's perhaps best known for starring in
La Celestina and
1492: Conquest of Paradise, and his role is also currently being kept a secret.
However, given Botto and Cosio's casting, you have to wonder about a South American setting for the film!
Taika Waititi
Taika Waititi is an accomplished director who saved the
Thor franchise with 2018's
Ragnarok. He's currently receiving rave reviews for helming and starring in
Jojo Rabbit, but he will make the leap from playing Korg to starring as a currently unknown character in
The Suicide Squad.
We don't know if he'll appear as himself or as a CG character, but chances are he'll keep that Kiwi accent of his!
Alice Braga
Remember what we said about a possible South American setting? Well, Alice Braga hails from Brazil and has a number of big budget blockbusters on her IMDb page, including
I Am Legend,
Predators, and
Elysium. She's also set to play Dr. Cecilia Reyes in
The New Mutants, but chances are
The Suicide Squad will arrive in theaters before that trouble Marvel movie from Fox does!
Once again, we've been left in the dark about who she's playing in this DC Comics adaptation.
Steve Agee
Steve Agee is a well-known writer and actor who worked with James Gunn on
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 when he played Ravager member Gef.
Aventure Time,
Superstore, and
New Girl can also be counted among his credits, and Deadline has previously reported that he voices King Shark.
Fans are very excited to see that massive villain on the big screen and Agee is definitely an interesting choice for
The Suicide Squad, especially after Michael Rooker was once rumoured for the role.
Tinashe Kajese
Tinashe Kajese's star is very much on the rise and has only really made minor appearances in TV shows and movies before now (she was "Cop 1" in
Outcast, for example).
Her role is also a mystery, but it's not outside the realm of possibility that she's playing the wife of Bronze Tiger seeing as it looks like we'll get a glimpse of that villain's home life. For now, we'll obviously have to wait and see.
Peter Capaldi
Peter Capaldi is now best known for starring in
Doctor Who and his addition to this cast is both exciting and very intriguing.
Literally all we know is that he's shaved his head for the role and will be completely bald so...get guessing! It's an interesting move by Gunn to add this actor to the DC Extended Universe, and we wouldn't be at all surprised if he winds up being
The Suicide Squad's baddie.
Jennifer Holland
Jennifer Holland is James Gunn's real-life girlfriend, but she does have some acting credits to her name, including
American Horror Story,
Brightburn, and
Rush Hour. Her casting came as a complete surprise so you probably won't be shocked to learn that she's someone else whose role is a mystery.
The question is, will Gunn add her to Task Force X? She certainly looks the part to play any number of DC Comics villains, and Killer Frost would be one very interesting choice in that respect.
Julio Ruiz
Julio Ruiz has appeared in
Zoo,
Preacher, and
S.W.A.T. in minor roles so your guess is as good as ours when it comes to which character from the comics he's playing in
The Suicide Squad.
He's a big guy, though, so it could be that he'll show up as a heavy or a formidable villain of some sort for the members of Task Force X to square off with. You wouldn't want to cross him anyway!
Daniela Melchior
Daniela Melchior isn't really that well-known outside of her home country of Portugal, and
The Suicide Squad actually marks her first major studio role. Here, though, she'll play Ratcatcher, a character from the comic books who has been gender-switched for the DC Extended Universe.
Ratcatcher has an ability to train rats for his own nefarious means in the source material, and that alone will make this member of Task Force X very, very unique. Interestingly, the trades have noted that her character is expected to have a connection to whoever Idris Elba is playing.
Michael Rooker
We all thought that Michael Rooker was playing King Shark, but that no longer seems to be the case so
The Walking Dead and
Guardians of the Galaxy star's part in
The Suicide Squad is unknown.
It's hardly a surprise that he's following Gunn to the DCEU, and whoever he ends up playing, you just know that Rooker stands a very good chance of stealing the show in this highly anticipated movie.
Some Familiar Faces...
While there are plenty of new additions coming to
The Suicide Squad, we'll also see a fair few characters from David Ayer's 2016 movie. Gunn would have been foolish not to bring at least some of those actors back and among the now confirmed names are Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), Jai Courtney (Boomerang), and Joel Kinnaman (Jack Flag).
Now, we just have to hope he doesn't kill them all off within the first five minutes!