James Gunn Encourages Good Hygiene On The Suicide Squad Set

The Suicide Squad director James Gunn might need a break. As the film begins its production, he seems to have found himself with so little downtime that he needs to sneak in a little self-care in the back of a golf cart on his way to set. Luckily for him, Instagram is there to document the fact that Gunn is serious about his dental health, and a selfie with his girlfriend, actress Jennifer Holland, can be seen below, bringing a little levity to what he has going on back stage. The caption is appropriately self-mocking, and most of the commenters on the image have gotten in on the gag, too.

This focus on health and hygiene is a break with tradition for Suicide Squad films, since method actor Jared Leto reportedly gave dead animals and used condoms to castmates during production on the first film, which was directed by David Ayer. Leto’s Joker is not back for Gunn’s take on the characters, although that is probably not specifically because of the actor’s antics on the Suicide Squad set.

Gunn recently confirmed his full cast, including returning Suicide Squad stars Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag) and Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang) alongside franchise newcomers Idris Elba, Michael Rooker, Peter Capaldi, Nathan Fillion, Sean Gunn, David Dastmalchian, Storm Reid, Taika Waititi and John Cena. Other cast additions include Pete Davidson, Juan Diego Botto, Joaquin Cosio, Flula Borg, Tinashe Kajese, Jennifer Holland, Julio Ruiz, Alice Braga, Steve Agee and Daniela Melchior.

Kinnaman, for his part, chimed in on the tooth-brushing image to say, “I like my direction at close range so I appreciate the gesture.”

Gunn most recently shared a new look at his cast on Instagram, two days after initiating filming on his first film set in the DC Universe.

“First of all, we don’t call it Suicide Squad 2 ’cause it’s a total reboot,” producer Peter Safran previously told JoBlo when asked about the connection between Gunn’s film and its David Ayer-directed predecessor. “So it’s The Suicide Squad and I think people should be extremely excited about it. It’s everything you would hope from a James Gunn script and I think that says a lot and that promises a lot and I know that we will deliver a lot.”

Warner Bros. opens The Suicide Squad August 6, 2021.