The Suicide Squad: James Gunn Explains Why Starro Makes a Good Villain

Last month saw the long-awaited release of the first official trailer for James Gunn's The Suicide Squad and showcased the movie's awesome cast of characters. The trailer also confirmed that the upcoming film will feature Starro, DC's evil alien who looks like a starfish. During a recent interview with Den of Geek, Gunn talked about Starro and shared why he is such a fun villain.

"Starro is hilarious because he's ridiculous. He's a giant, cerulean blue starfish, but he's also f*cking terrifying," Gunn explained. "When I was a kid I thought that was the scariest thing of all time… and I think that exemplifies what this movie is: it is ridiculous and it's also terrifying, and serious. So he works really well as the villain of the movie— as one of the villains, actually."

For a while, many fans thought Taika Waititi would be voicing Starro since his role in the movie has yet to be disclosed. However, Gunn confirmed last month that Waititi is not Starro in the movie. "Is Taika voicing Starro?," @JoshThomas1994 asked on Twitter. "No," Gunn replied. The director didn't provide any more information, so Waititi's role is still a mystery, but at least we know who the Thor: Love and Thunder director isn't playing. There were also many guesses that he would be providing the voice of King Shark, but it was revealed in the trailer that the character is being played by Sylvester Stallone.

Recently, Gunn answered some fan questions about his upcoming movie and revealed why King Shark was changed from a hammerhead to a great white. "I did tests with the hammerhead design, which I love & originally thought I'd use. But having eyes on the sides far apart made it incredibly awkward shooting interactions with other people. You couldn't really see him looking at the other person & the shots tended to be too wide," Gunn explained.

The Suicide Squad's cast includes Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Robbie as Harley Quinn, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Steve Agee as John Economos and King Shark (on-set reference), Sylvester Stallone as the voice of King Shark, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, John Cena as Peacemaker, Michael Rooker as Savant, Flula Borg as Javelin, Peter Capaldi as Thinker, Nathan Fillion as TDK, Mayling Ng as Mongal, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Sean Gunn as Weasel, Joaquin Cosio as General Mateo Suarez, Juan Diego Botto as Luna, Storm Reid as Tyla, Alice Braga as Sol Soria, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, and Taika Waititi in an unknown role.

Do you have any guesses about the voice of Starro? Tell us in the comments!

The Suicide Squad hits theatres and HBO Max on August 6th.