Will Batman be showing up in The Suicide Squad? It’s a reasonable question, given that the character was featured in the first movie. We haven’t seen the Dark Knight on the big screen since Justice League in 2017 back when Ben Affleck was still donning the cape and cowl. Affleck has since moved on, which makes the question all the more intriguing. Now, director James Gunn has provided a definitive answer.
Warning: Some might consider this to be venturing into spoiler territory, so read on at your own risk. Quite a few people were taking to social media to inquire about Batman’s status in The Suicide Squad, which James Gunn wrote the screenplay for, in addition to his duties as director. Recently, in one of his Instagram stories, Gunn made it pretty clear that we shouldn’t expect any appearances from the famed Gotham City hero in his latest. Here’s what Gunn had to say about it.
“You can check out Batman in #TheBatman, June 2021. #TheSuicideSquad will feature mostly, you know, The Suicide Squad.”
So there we have it. Odds are, putting Batman in the movie simply wouldn’t have served the story. James Gunn was given quite a bit of creative leeway with this project. Had he wanted Batman in there, Warner Bros. probably could have figured out a way to make it happen. Granted, the situation, at present, with that character is complicated. Ben Affleck retired the role following the release of Justice League, with Robert Pattinson now taking over for director Matt Reeves in The Batman, which is gearing up to shoot early next year. That raises even more questions when it comes to continuity.
In the timeline of The Suicide Squad, which takes place in the DCEU, Ben Affleck is still Batman. Yet, he didn’t die or anything like that. So any appearance by Batman would have to be that version of the character. The Batman is expected to take place outside of the DCEU and, even if it doesn’t, it will be focusing on a much younger version of Bruce Wayne. So Robert Pattinson couldn’t simply suit up for a glorified cameo. Again, messy. But a messy situation didn’t prevent Superman from appearing in Shazam (from the neck down anyway) so anything is possible.
Related: Is The Suicide Squad a Sequel or Reboot? James Gunn Won’t Say Yet
Here’s what we know for sure. The Suicide Squad will be a soft-ish reboot of 2016’s Suicide Squad. The cast features returning members like Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Newcomers include David Dastmalchian as Polka Dot Man, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher, Michael Rooker as King Shark and John Cena as Peacemaker. Idris Elba plays an unspecified role, though he was originally brought in to replace Will Smith as Deadshot. Storm Reid is set to play his daughter. The Suicide Squad is set to arrive in theaters on August 6, 2021. This news originated over on James Gunn’s Instagram.
James Gunn responding to fans about Suicide Squad and Guardians 3 is my favorite Instagram thing. pic.twitter.com/Hd3JS5Jt94
— Nathaniel Brail (@NateBrail) August 11, 2019
