The Suicide Squad: James Gunn Celebrates His Frequent Collaborators Nathan Fillion and Michael Rooker

The Suicide Squad is out now, and it features a star-studded line-up of actors ranging from folks seen in the 2016 Suicide Squad as well as many DCEU newcomers. Two such newcomers are Nathan Fillion and Michael Rooker, who play T.D.K. and Savant, respectively. Their presence in the movie isn’t exactly surprising considering they’re long-time collaborators of director James Gunn. In fact, Gunn took to social media today to honor their history together.

“I’ve directed 5 movies & these 2 have been in ALL of them, perhaps because it’s kind of like having a little angel & a little devil on my shoulder. #TheSuicideSquad @nathanfillion @michael_rooker #TDK #Savant (ok yes I know Nate is only in the deep background on a poster in Vol 2 but still!),” Gunn wrote. The movies in question are Slither, Super, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and The Suicide Squad. You can check out the photo of the three men below:

Rooker’s streak in Gunn’s movies might come to an end with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The actor played Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 but his character tragically died in the sequel. Gunn has made it clear time and time again that he has no plans to resurrect Yondu in the third movie, saying the character would only return in a scene occurring before his death. “Unless we’re talking about some sort of prequel or flashback, I believe this would nullify Yondu’s sacrifice,” Gunn wrote in a tweet. However, Rooker has said that he’s very open to returning as Yondu. “Bring it on, baby,” he replied when asked if he’d be interested in making a Yondu prequel for Disney+.

As for Fillion, the actor recently spoke with ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis and explained how he and Gunn collaborated on his character. T.D.K. AKA The Detachable Kid is one of two original characters making a debut in The Suicide Squad. Fillion joked, “My participation in the invention of the character kind of went like this. James saying, ‘Here’s how it’s going to go.’ And me saying, ‘That sounds good.’ That’s what I call dissipation.”

“I take a lot of credit. It’s all about the function of the character in the story,” Fillion added. “What is his function in the story? And TDK’s abilities, for me, clearly spelled out his function and I got it. I know exactly what you need. I know what you’re looking for. I know what you want. Boom. Let’s do this. I get it.”

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