The Suicide Squad: James Gunn Reveals How He Picked Characters to Kill

Even before cameras were rolling on The Suicide Squad, writer/director James Gunn was quick to make sure that no one got attached and were ready for their favorite characters to die in the upcoming movie. With a cast that includes a variety of well known and obscure DC characters, he had plenty to choose from to populate the film and a swath from whom to decide who lives and who dies. Speaking at at a press event attended by ComicBook.com, Gunn was asked how he decided who would make it out of the film alive and who wouldn’t, noting that sometimes the answer surprised even him as he wrote.

“It’s fun watching people die on screen sometimes. It was really pretty organic,” Gun said. “I mean, I had to choose what characters I was going to use from DC. And I had a huge trove of characters to choose from. Some characters I knew were going to die from the beginning and then other characters I didn’t know for sure were going to die. Obviously, I chose some characters that I knew were going to die, see that as the movie plays out. And then some of the characters surprised me. Some of the characters lived that I didn’t know were for sure going to live…..In a way it’s weird because I love these characters. And in another way, it’s weird because I am Amanda Waller. I’m pushing that button on those characters because it serves our purposes as an audience to see them go.”

Gunn also spoke about watching some of the deaths himself and that even though he knew they were coming it’s still hard for him to watch.

“Some of the characters, especially as you go further into the movie and some of the deaths later in the film still break my heart every time I watch. There’s two characters in particular that when they die, I still get teary-eyed every time I watch the movie, even when I’m watching those scenes edited, when I was going through them. It still really kills me.”

Cast members confirmed to appear in the film, and potentially among its body count, include Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Colonel Rick Flag, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, John Cena as Peacemaker, Nathan Fillion as T.D.K., Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Flula Borg as Javelin, Mayling Ng as Mongal, Michael Rooker as Savant, Alice Braga as Sol Soria, and Sean Gunn as Weasel.

The Suicide Squad hits theaters and streams on HBO Max on August 6!