The cast of misfits who will populate writer/directorJames Gunn’s mostly-new version ofThe Suicide Squadis filling up quickly. Just a day afterAnt-ManalumDavid Dastmalchianlanded the role of Polka-Dot Man, Variety reports that relative newcomerDaniela Melchiorwill join the project as Ratcatcher.
Now,boththose names might be met with a “who?”, so let’s start with Melchior: the Portuguese actress has actually been working since 2014, mostly on telenovelas likeHerdeiraandValor da Vida. Rumors had Melchior in the hunt forThe Suicide Squadrole early along withTransformers: The Last KnightactressIsabela Moner, with Melchior obviously winning out.
As for Ratcatcher, Gunn’s take on the character will be a gender-swapped version of the DC Comics' villain Otis Flannegan, a former member of the Gotham City Sanitation Department who has a legion of highly-trained rats and an affinity for poisonous gases. When Colliderfirst reportedthe new characters that would be arriving inThe Suicide Squad, we noted that the new character played byIdris Elba—not Deadshot, as it looked like at the time—would act as a “surrogate father of sorts” to Ratcatcher.
Margot Robbiewill reprise her Harley Quinn role for the film, as willJai Courtneyas Captain Boomerang andViola Davisas Amanda Waller. (The returning cast makes it unclear whether this really is a “full” reboot or something adjacent.)John Cenais reportedly joining the cast in a yet-announced role that is most likely the Peacemaker part originally envisioned forDave Bautista. Finally,someoneout there is going to be playing King Shark, and if it isn’tTom Hardywithout the aid of CGI I’m not sure why we’re even doing this.
The Suicide Squadis set to start production in the Fall of 2019, right before Gunn turns his attention to the other side of the fence forGuardians of the Galaxy 3.
