John Ostrander Thinks Oprah Would Be Perfect For Suicide Squad, Wants a "Stan Lee Cameo"

In a new interview with Comic Book Resources, veteran Suicide Squad scribe John Ostrander -- [...]

In a new interview with Comic Book Resources, veteran Suicide Squad scribe John Ostrander -- whose run on the title was singled out by DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns as something fans should read ahead of the 2016 movie -- said that he's pleased with the cast announced this week, including the controversial-in-some-quarters decision to cast Will Smith as Deadshot.

Noting that Deadshot is already a character who's been reimagined from time to time -- be it in Gail Simone's Secret Six run or on Arrow -- Ostrander said that he believes Smith will do well with the role.

"I see it. I definitely see it," Ostrander said. "The thing you have to consider is that movies are different and separate entities from comics. They have different needs, and they have to find ways to get a lot of people into seats. To the general public, Deadshot as a character is not well known, so they wouldn't really notice any difference. Of course, the people doing the movies want to have the biggest star that they can, because that will help draw people into the movie. Understanding all of that, I have no problem with the casting."

He added, "It also depends on how the part is written, what the director wants out of it and what Will Smith brings to it. But I have no doubt that he is fully capable of bringing a really good performance to it."

He also weighed in on rumors that Warner Bros. was looking to convince Oprah Winfrey to play Amanda Waller.

"What's really interesting to me is that all three of the women that they were talking about, Oprah Winfrey, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, were at the top of my list," the writer said. "Actually, I was just talking to my fiancé Mary Mitchell the other day, just before this was announced, and those were the three names that came to me off the top of my head. Oprah was actually at the top of my list! She showed in The Color Purple that she's a really good actor, and she's got the attitude for Waller."

Asked whether he would participate in the film if he were called to consult (as Frank Miller is doing with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice), Ostrander said that he would, although he found it unlikely that he would get that call.

"I would like a Stan Lee cameo," he joked.

We'll leave it up to your imaginations whether that means he'd like to have a cameo in the film, a la what Stan Lee does for properties in the Marvel Universe...or whether he'd like to see The Man in The Squad.

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