James Gunn may have two superhero movies on the horizon with the release of The Suicide Squad in August and beginning production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 but that doesn't mean he isn't bored by the genre at times. While discussing why he tried to make The Suicide Squad different from every other superhero movie he's seen, the director revealed that today's superhero movies are mostly boring to him right now.
During a chat with "Gamesradar", Gunn discussed how he wanted to make The Suicide Squad stand apart from other films of the genre and that's when he declared his boredom for some of it, although he did acknowledge some are trying to do different things to keep things from getting stale. Here is what he had to say:
"They're mostly boring to me right now. I loved them at the beginning and there are still people trying to do different things [with them], so it's not a 100% rule, but a lot of them are boring. So I think it's about bringing in other elements from different genres."
When it came to talking about infusing other genres into the world of superheroes, Gunn said, "I loved the idea of making a supervillain war caper film. Films like The Dirty Dozen and Where Eagles Dare, those are of different elements from the backdrop of war and the caper heist element, to the sneaking around, the high stakes, the adventure. It gave me a great excuse to be able to create a film in a genre I've loved since I was a little kid, and do in a big way and not have to hold back." From the early looks at The Suicide Squad, it really seems Gunn has made a film that isn't typical of the genre so his take is something that can make the concept feel fresh. No matter how much money these films make, there is a chance they can go stale and Gunn is merely saying that some of them play too close to formula without trying to mix things up and try something new.
The Suicide Squad follows the members of Task Force X after they're sent to the South American island of Corto Maltese to destroy Jotunheim, a Nazi-era prison, and laboratory which held political prisoners and conducted experiments. The large ensemble cast includes Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, John Cena as Peacemaker, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Peter Capaldi as Thinker, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Alice Braga as Sol Soria, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Michael Rooker as Savant, Nathan Fillion as T.D.K., Sean Gunn as Weasel, Flula Borg as Javelin, Juan Diego Botto as Silvio Luna, and Mayling Ng as Mongal. Steve Agee is also pulling double duty doing the motion capture for King Shark and starring as John Economos, while Sylvester Stallone provides the vocal talent for King Shark.
What are YOUR thoughts on James Gunn's comments? The Suicide Squad hits screens and HBO Max on August 6, 2021.