With just a few weeks left before James Gunn’s glorious and colorful madness hits the screens in the US and the UK, the latest trailer of The Suicide Squad has hinted at its darker side with a few shocking revelations. After being temporarily fired by Disney and Marvel Studios for decade-old tweets, director James Gunn was hired by Warner Bros. to helm the movie which is for now considered to be a soft reboot of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad (2016). However, The Suicide Squad is neither a reboot nor a sequel, which begs the question: where does this movie exactly fit in the DCEU timeline?
Related: The Flash: First Look At Michael Keaton As Bruce Wayne Revealed
The Suicide Squad will have numerous new faces including the likes of Idris Elba, John Cena, Sylvester Stallone, Peter Capaldi, David Dastamalchian, Nathan Fillion, Pete Davidson, and Alice Bragga alongside a few familiar faces of Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, and Viola Davis reprising their roles from the previous movie. After the critical failure of Ayer’s Suicide Squad, James Gunn is expected to set the record straight for Task Force X as the band of misfits will come together to battle Starro.
Apart from the return of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, the latest trailer of The Suicide Squad has also name-dropped Superman, who was apparently put in the ICU by Idris Elba’s Bloodsport with a near-fatal Kryptonite bullet. According to director James Gunn, The Suicide Squad is set in the current year 2021, which is nearly five years after the events of Ayer’s Suicide Squad, and roughly a year and a half after the events of Birds of Prey. Moreover, the Superman incident stated in the latest trailer also hints at a post-Justice League timeline where Kryptonite has made its way to the black market after its discovery in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and its potential to be weaponized as shown by Batman himself.
Related: DC Villains More Dangerous Than The Joker
While the movie is expected to have a few key references to the previous movies, the anthological style adapted by the DCEU will most probably make The Suicide Squad be its own independent property, with the potential for advancing the storyline for both Harley Quinn and Task Force X. Though it’s yet to be seen how James Gunn’s colorful craziness will impact the DCEU, the question of timeline continuity cannot be understated at this stage as Peacemaker, a spin-off based on the upcoming movie starring John Cena in the titular role is also set to release on HBO Max next year.
Related: The Suicide Squad: Why Dave Bautista Passed on The Peacemaker Role
The Suicide Squad is scheduled for a theatrical release on 6th August 2021 in the United States.
