Michael Rooker In Talks to Join James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad as King Shark

The cast for James Gunn‘s reboot/sequel to Suicide Squad just added another familiar face. The upcoming DC Comics film is set to be a standalone film, though actors from the first film are set to reprise their roles. But Gunn is going back to his well to flesh out the cast, bringing some frequent collaborators along for the ride for his DC debut.

A new report from the Wrap indicates that Michael Rooker is in talks to play King Shark in The Suicide Squad, reteaming the actor with Gunn after his roles in Sliver and the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies.

The plot for The Suicide Squad is still under wraps, but it seems like Rooker will be fulfilling the muscle role of Killer Croc from the first film. Rooker was a staunch supporter of Gunn’s when the director was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and praised his friend when The Suicide Squad was originally announced.

Rooker will be joined by fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe alumni David Dastmalchian, who will be playing Polkadot Man in the upcoming film. Idris Elba will star, alongside returning cast members Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, and others.

Gunn previously expressed excitement about being able to tackle this project, praising the original comic book run by Kim Yale and John Ostrander as a source of inspiration.

“I have been an enormous fan of [Suicide Squad] in all its [DC Comics] incarnations – but to me there will always be something special about the [John Ostrander] run,” Gunn wrote on Instagram. “Black ops military tales with disposable, often forgotten super villains?! Pure perfection.”

Unlike the first film, Gunn’s project is said to feature a lot of C-List villains, leaning more into the absurdity of the concept. While there are some returning faces from David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, this one will be much different, according to the Hollywood Reporter’s character breakdown:

“Plot details are being kept secret but the new characters include DC villains such as Ratcatcher (she controls rats), Peacemaker (he loves peace so much he will kill for it), King Shark (would you believe us if we told you it’s a humanoid shark?) and last but certainly not least, Polka-Dot Man… Gunn has shown an affinity for pretty obscure comic characters — this one has appeared less than a dozen times since his creation — and the character is said to lean into his embarrassment of his ‘lame’ abilities.”

The Suicide Squad is currently set to premiere in theaters on August 6, 2021.

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