The Suicide Squad Trailer Hints at Starro’s DCEU Origin

After a lot of anticipation from fans, the final for The Suicide Squad was released on Tuesday morning — albeit, not quite in the way they might have been expecting. A new trailer from the film surfaced online exclusively YouTube advertisements, but those who managed to discover the trailer found some epic new moments from the DC Comics-inspired blockbuster. This included quite a few new glimpses at the film’s surprising villain, the iconic Justice League baddie known as Starro. Along the way, the trailer seemed to hint at the circumstances of how Starro will make its big-screen debut — and they definitely raise some questions.

Midway through the trailer, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) can be heard instructing Task Force X on their mission, which seems to be to eliminate all traces of something dubbed “Project Starfish.” We also get a few glimpses of Starro itself, ranging from it swinging King Shark (Sylvester Stallone and Steve Agee) through a building with its tentacles, and also birthing a series of mini Starros out of the sky.

So, what exactly is Project Starfish? It isn’t really clear, especially since there isn’t a direct DC Comics analog for the name. But the fact that a secret government project has existed seemingly to deal with Starro — and has acquired enough dangerous evidence to need to be eliminated covertly — definitely will get fans wondering about how the alien conqueror has already impacted Earth. As previous footage from the film showed, the mini Starros have already begun to fulfill their comic-accurate role of controlling the people it latches onto the faces of.

“Starro is hilarious because he’s ridiculous. He’s a giant, cerulean blue starfish, but he’s also f*cking terrifying,” writer-director James Gunn explained in an interview with Den of Geek earlier this year. “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.”

The Suicide Squad will see the return of Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman as Colonel Rick Flag, and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang from 2016’s Suicide Squad. Joining them in the film are David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Steve Agee as King Shark, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, John Cena as Peacemaker, Nathan Fillion as T.D.K., Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Flula Borg as Javelin, Mayling Ng as Mongal, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, Michael Rooker as Savant, Alice Braga as Sol Soria, and Sean Gunn as Weasel.

Are you excited to see Starro in The Suicide Squad? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The Suicide Squad is set to be released both in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6th.