"I wouldn't have guessed that it would have been one of the properties that they would do quite so quickly," Suicide Squad creator John Ostrander tells CBR about how he felt to hear that a movie based on Task Force X is in the works and set for 2016. "That's a heck of a slot. It's the first movie after "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." That places them pretty high and sure, that pleases me." The cast of course is particularly impressive, with Will Smith taking on the role of Deadshot one of the most talked about decisisions. He'll likely be headlining the movie, and Ostrander had this to say about him playing Floyd Lawton. "I definitely see it. The thing you have to consider is that movies are different and separate entities from comics. They have different needs, and they have to find ways to get a lot of people into seats. To the general public, Deadshot as a character is not well known, so they wouldn't really notice any difference. Of course, the people doing the movies want to have the biggest star that they can, because that will help draw people into the movie. Understanding all of that, I have no problem with the casting," he confirmed.
There's also a very good chance that Tom Hardy will be taking on one of the lead roles in Suicide Squad as the leader of the team, Rick Flag. This is another characer Ostrander did a lot of work on during his comic book run, and he's once again pleased with this choice AND Jared Leto as The Joker. "I think that's a very interesting choice. Again, Tom Hardy is a very versatile actor. What I am really impressed by with all of the casting is that they are getting some very good actors to play these parts. That means Warner Bros. is very serious about this movie. They are serious about the concept. I think Hardy is an excellent actor. Jared Leto as The Joker? Oh, my. This is his first film since winning an Academy Award! That's pretty high profile for a film called "Suicide Squad." They are taking this very seriously. [Laughs]" As for how he feels David Ayer should approach the movie and how he feels about reports that it may be an Oceans 11-style caper, he added: "It sounds like they are going with my original concept, which is that these are bad guys, and in order to earn their freedom, they have to go on missions, in which they could be killed. I've even read that they are talking about that as the film, as well. Which I think is a good one."
One role which wasn't announced of course was Amanda Waller, with Oprah Winfrey named as a frontrunner. "What's really interesting to me is that all three of the women that they were talking about, Oprah Winfrey, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, were at the top of my list. Actually, I was just talking to my fiancé Mary Mitchell the other day, just before this was announced, and those were the three names that came to me off the top of my head. Oprah was actually at the top of my list! She showed in "The Color Purple" that she's a really good actor, and she's got the attitude for Waller. And they're all of the same general build, which I made for Waller. I like that, as well. I think Queen Latifah would be a good fit, too. She almost did Waller when she did "Chicago." She certainly has the attitude." Finally, the site asked Ostrander whether he feels like anyone was missing (there's always a chance that more actors will be cast of course), and does actually have at least a couple of suggestions. "I think Bronze Tiger would have been interesting. I think they needed a few more characters that aren't villains, because that's what we did originally, in order to make it work. I think Night Shade could work either way as a hero or a villain. She has a very useful power. But again, it's a very interesting choice in having The Joker for the Squad. It will be interesting to see how they make that work. And if they use [Lex] Luthor, as they are evidently in negotiations to do, that would also be an interesting story element."