When David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” hit theaters in 2016, moviegoers were through the roof after seeing some spectacular trailers. The trailers showed colorful and comic-like scenes, along with a star-studded lineup and an epic soundtrack. Upon release of the movie, viewers quickly figured out scenes in trailers don’t always make the final cut. “Suicide Squad” may not have been as good as the previews suggested, but it had a very interesting premise, one that isn’t done telling stories yet. 

Plans for a sequel were announced shortly after the movie’s release, and now, four years later, the sequel, “The Suicide Squad,” has both a director and an almost entirely new cast. DC Films has decided to go in a different direction for this sequel, hiring James Gunn as lead director. Of all the writers and directors to tackle “The Suicide Squad,” Gunn is a perfect fit. He successfully helped integrate space-themed movies into the widely earth-bound Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with his handling of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise. He has shown he can tell a compelling story with sincere themes that don’t take themselves too seriously. 

“The Suicide Squad” is essentially going to be the “Guardians of the Galaxy” of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Regarding the cast, many won’t be returning this time around. Notable omissions from the sequel include Will Smith in his role of Deadshot and Jared Leto as the Joker. Leto has cited his concerns about many of his scenes in the original “Suicide Squad” being cut, along with his involvement in the new “Morbius” (2021) film coming out as his reasons to step down from the role. 

Margot Robbie will be reprising her role as Harley Quinn in the sequel. Her performance was among the best in “Suicide Squad,” directly leading to her starring in the financially successful “Birds of Prey” (2020). The new updated cast shows a lot of promise with even more recognizable names popping up. Cast members such as Nathan Fillion, Taika Waititi, Idris Elba, Pete Davidson and John Cena are confirmed to make appearances in “The Suicide Squad.”

When Gunn released the cast list to the public in 2019 with the caption “Don’t get too attached,” fans immediately began theorizing on the enticing idea that some or most of the characters in the film will die. Plot details have so far been airtight with nothing surfacing to date. The sequel film is set to release Aug. 6 of next year. Besides the release date and the cast members, fans don’t exactly have a clear picture of what to expect. 

Fans shouldn’t fret though, as Gunn has a way of creating pieces of art that don’t fit conventional movie-going expectations. Those who have seen “Guardians of the Galaxy” or its sequel should already be rightfully excited for what Gunn will pull off with this new cast.

A few months from now, when a trailer is released, fans’ enthusiasm will surely be reignited. Based on his previous failures and successes, Gunn wouldn’t let the trailer be better than the movie for this iteration of the story.