The Suicide Squad: Taika Waititi’s Role Revealed

After what felt like years of waiting, James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad has finally been released in theatres and on HBO Max. The movie’s star-studded line-up of actors was announced last year, and up until the movie’s release, every role had been revealed with one exception. Taika Waititi, who is best known for directing Thor: Ragnarok, has been the big mystery of the movie for a while now. Originally, fans assumed he was voicing King Shark, but it was revealed back in March that the role was being voiced by Sylvester Stallone. Then, the first official trailer dropped and people thought Waititi would be voicing Starro, but Gunn shut down those rumors quickly. Now that The Suicide Squad has been released, we finally know who Waititi is playing. Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Taika Waititi is The Suicide Squad‘s Ratcatcher! The role of Ratcatcher 2, Ratcatcher’s daughter, is played by Daniela Melchior in the film. About an hour into the movie, Ratcatcher 2 is talking about her father to Bloodsport (Idris Elba), and a flashback showcases Waititi in the role. However, the moment happens so quickly, you may have missed that the part was being played by Waititi. At the end of the film, Ratcatcher 2 uses rats to help take down Starro, and another flashback is shown from her childhood. The young Ratcatcher 2 asks, “Why rats, Papa?” Waititi tenderly replies, “Rats are the lowliest and most despised of all creatures, my love. If they have purpose, so do we all.”

During a recent chat with ComicBook.com, Melchior talked about working with live rats during her audition.

“So, they brought this really big plastic box with the rats already opened and they didn’t tell me anything,” Melchior shared. “They wanted to see what I was going to do. So, I was like, ‘Oh my God. So sweet.’ And I wasn’t pretending, I swear. I picked one up, and then he was crawling on my shoulder. I picked another one. Then I found myself… Me and James [Gunn], we looked like little kids playing with toys. We were so happy to have them. And I guess I passed the test.”

In addition to Waititi and Melchior, The Suicide Squad‘s cast includes Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Margot 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, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, Michael Rooker as Savant, Flula Borg as Javelin, 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, and Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt.

The Suicide Squad is now playing in theatres and is available to watch on HBO Max.