The Suicide Squad Director James Gunn Shoots Down “Overly Optimistic” Death Toll

Brace yourself: everyone is going to die in The Suicide Squad. Well, maybe not everyone, but certainly more than seven individuals. A spec piece has been making its rounds online suggesting seven characters in the James Gunn team-up that could end up kicking the bucket. Now, it’s gotten back to Gunn himself and he’s breaking his silence on the matter. According to the filmmaker, only seven deaths is an optimistic outlook on the R-rated feature.

“This is overly optimistic to say the least,” Gunn tweeted Saturday morning.

From the earliest moments Gunn was hired for the project, the filmmaker has been telling fans to make sure they “don’t get attached. Shortly after the first trailer for The Suicide Squad was released, the R-rated bloodbath set the record for the most-watched red band trailer on the internet.

“I just got word #TheSuicideSquad redband trailer set a new record for most views of a redband trailer in a week, with over 150 million views worldwide,” Gunn tweeted earlier this month to announce the news. “I’m incredibly grateful to all of you for making this happen! THANK YOU!”

In the aforementioned trailer, we see King Shark (Sylvester Stallone) rip a soldier in two, and that’s outside of the hundreds of bullets and gunshots along the way. Luckily for movie-going audiences, no supervillain death has been confirmed or leaked through marketing, at least not as of yet.

Warner’s full synopsis for the feature can be found below.

“Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin, and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.”

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

Do you think any other surprise characters could end up popping up? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!