The 2016 Warner Bros. filmSuicide Squadwas kind’ve funny in the sense that, for its entire 2 hour and 17-minute runtime, I thought the theater was playing a prank of some kind, but I wouldn’t classify it as a comedy. That all might change in the sequel,The Suicide Squad, written and directed byJames Gunn. At least, that’s according toJoel Kinnaman, who is set to reprise the role of Colonel Rick Flag.
Speaking toVariety, Kinnaman praised Gunn’s script, likening it to a straight-up comedy.
“He’s written a fantastic script," the actor said. “It’s so funny…I feel like I’m shooting my first comedy. There are a lot of really funny people there. It’s like a learning experience. I’m around a lot of incredibly funny people.”
This isn’t exactly a surprise, given the fact Gunn oversees one of the weirdest, most joke-heavy franchises in the MCU withGuardians of the Galaxy.There’s also the news that characters like King Shark—a very large shark-man who walks on two legs—and Arm-Fall-Off-Boy—a boy whose arms fall off—would be new characters introduced inThe Suicide Squad.
But fear not, fans of the grim-faced DC movie.Joker, a film that is decidedlynota comedy, is still lighting up the box office, right on the cusp of becoming thehighest-grossing R-rated movieof all time. Kinnaman also had high praise forJoaquin Phoenix’s performance inTodd Phillips' gritty Clown Prince of Crime origin story.
“Joaquin [Phoenix] just crushed it. Wow. He is incredible. He’s such an actor,” Kinnaman said. “It’s surprising to see that kind of a performance in something that has a DC wrapper on it because that’s a real art film. And I have a sister who’s schizophrenic, and I’ve drawn on some of her behavioral things in things that I’ve done earlier, and, yeah, I was really struck by how accurate his [performance was].”
For more onThe Suicide Squad, here isthe pretty stacked full cast listand our recentinterview with Captain Boomerang himself,Jai Courtney.
