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The Suicide Squad first trailer reveals Idris Elba, John Cena and more at DC Fandome

James Gunn leads the team of DC antiheroes, including Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and SNL's Pete Davidson as Blackguard.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
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Get ready for the return of The Suicide Squad. John Cena is playing Peacemaker. 

DC Films

The Suicide Squad director James Gunn revealed who's playing which villain in the 2021 movie Saturday at DC FanDome, and shared a teaser with some footage and behind-the-scenes glimpses at the action-packed movie.

Idris Elba, it turns out, is playing Bloodsport; wrestler-actor John Cena is playing Peacemaker; longtime Gunn pal Nathan Fillion is playing TDK; and Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson is playing Blackguard. Some of the roles revealed at DC FanDome were already known, including Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn; Viola Davis as Amanda Waller; Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag; and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang. 

And if you thought the Avengers had a huge group, buckle up, because The Suicide Squad is enormous. Here's the full character list, as shared by Gunn on Twitter:

Idris Elba plays Bloodsport
Margot Robbie plays Harley Quinn
Viola Davis plays Amanda Waller
Sean Gunn plays Weasel
Pete Davidson plays Blackguard
Daniela Melchior plays Ratcatcher 2
Joel Kinnaman plays Colonel Rick Flag
Nathan Fillion plays TDK
Jai Courtney plays Captain Boomerang
Steve Agee plays the on-set King Shark and John Economos
Mayling Ng plays Mongal
David Dastmalchian plays Polka-Dot Man
Alice Braga plays Sol Soria
John Cena plays Peacemaker
Juan Diego Botto plays Presidente General Silvio Luna
Peter Capaldi plays The Thinker
Michael Rooker plays Savant
Flula Borg plays Javelin
Joaquín Cosío is Mayor General Mateo Suarez
Jennifer Holland plays Emilia Harcourt
Storm Reid plays Tyla

Gunn said during the panel that The Suicide Squad was "by far the most fun I've ever had making a movie," which may have surprised some fans who expected the Guardians of the Galaxy films to take that spot. Gunn also praised the extensive special effects, many of which were shown in a video reel that mixed behind-the-scenes footage. Cast members joined him for a laugh-filled trivia game, and Gunn answered fan-submitted questions. He was most excited to write for Harley Quinn, he said, mentioning that the character has a "chaotic trickster god" element.

He's also said fans shouldn't fear he wasn't given a free hand to make the film he wanted, tweeting it's "100%, zero interference, no-holds-barred ME."

Gunn wrote and directed the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films for Marvel, but signed on for The Suicide Squad after Marvel briefly fired him for off-color tweets. Producer Peter Safran has said The Suicide Squad is not a direct sequel to the original 2016 film Suicide Squad, though it features numerous returning characters played by the same actors. The similarity of the titles is confusing, but the second movie uses "The" in its title.

After the panel, Gunn tweeted two very similar posters from DC FanDome, and invited fans to spot the differences. 

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