The Suicide Squad

References

Images

Superpowered storyteller

The Suicide Squad

film by Gunn [2021]

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 22, 2026

Quick Summary

Superpowered storyteller — Superpowered storyteller James Gunn at the premiere of The Suicide Squad (2021) at the Village Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles.

The Suicide Squad (2021) is a film directed by James Gunn, known for his work on the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. Gunn's narratives often blend humor with emotional depth and feature characters yearning for connection. In The Suicide Squad, Gunn took on the DC Comics universe, offering a fresh take on its characters. Margot Robbie reprises her role as Harley Quinn, a character she previously portrayed in Suicide Squad (2016) and Birds of Prey (2020). The film received generally favorable reviews. Gunn's distinctive style, characterized by pop culture references and nostalgic music, is evident in his work. He is also the co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios, guiding the direction of its cinematic universe.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

John Cena
Action movies
…films from this time include The Suicide Squad, which centers on a group of DC Comics superheroes. In 2024 he joined an all-star cast—which included Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, and Catherine O’Hara—for Argylle, about a novelist whose current spy novel comes to life.
Read More
…films from this time include The Suicide Squad, which centers on a group of DC Comics superheroes. In 2024 he joined an all-star cast—which included Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, and Catherine O’Hara—for Argylle, about a novelist whose current spy novel comes to life.
Read More

Viola Davis
The Help and How to Get Away with Murder
…she reprised the role in The Suicide Squad (2021). Davis reteamed with Washington for the 2016 film adaptation of Fences, which he also directed. For her work in the drama, Davis won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award. Consequently, she became the first Black woman to win an…
Read More
…she reprised the role in The Suicide Squad (2021). Davis reteamed with Washington for the 2016 film adaptation of Fences, which he also directed. For her work in the drama, Davis won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award. Consequently, she became the first Black woman to win an…
Read More

James Gunn
Fresh start at DC: Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, and Superman
…foundations of the franchise in The Suicide Squad (2021), which starred Margot Robbie, John Cena, and Idris Elba. The film opened to positive reviews, grossing about $168 million worldwide. For his part, Gunn credited the movie with giving him a creative lifeline after the public scrutiny he faced for his…
Read More
…foundations of the franchise in The Suicide Squad (2021), which starred Margot Robbie, John Cena, and Idris Elba. The film opened to positive reviews, grossing about $168 million worldwide. For his part, Gunn credited the movie with giving him a creative lifeline after the public scrutiny he faced for his…
Read More

Idris Elba
The Suicide Squad and Hijack
…supervillain Bloodsport in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. That year he also played an outlaw in The Harder They Fall, a revenge western in which he costarred with Regina King and Jonathan Majors. In 2022 Elba starred in several films, including George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing, in which…
Read More
…supervillain Bloodsport in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. That year he also played an outlaw in The Harder They Fall, a revenge western in which he costarred with Regina King and Jonathan Majors. In 2022 Elba starred in several films, including George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing, in which…
Read More

Margot Robbie
From ice-skating as Tonya Harding to waltzing as Harley Quinn
…Prey (2020) and later in The Suicide Squad (2021). Both movies earned generally favorable reviews.
Read More
…Prey (2020) and later in The Suicide Squad (2021). Both movies earned generally favorable reviews.
Read More

supervillain
Modern villainy
…Birds of Prey (2020) and The Suicide Squad (2021); and Ryan Reynolds’s profanity-laced performance in the Deadpool series, including Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). Willem Dafoe’s unsettling interpretation of the Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002), however, signaled the arrival of sinister supervillains in Hollywood, a dark trend that
Read More
…Birds of Prey (2020) and The Suicide Squad (2021); and Ryan Reynolds’s profanity-laced performance in the Deadpool series, including Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). Willem Dafoe’s unsettling interpretation of the Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002), however, signaled the arrival of sinister supervillains in Hollywood, a dark trend that
Read More

Taika Waititi
Jojo Rabbit and Reservation Dogs
…appeared in the action movies The Suicide Squad, playing Ratcatcher, and Free Guy, in which a bank teller (Ryan Reynolds) learns that he is a character in a video game. Waititi then returned to the world of superheroes with the irreverent Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), which he directed and…
Read More
…appeared in the action movies The Suicide Squad, playing Ratcatcher, and Free Guy, in which a bank teller (Ryan Reynolds) learns that he is a character in a video game. Waititi then returned to the world of superheroes with the irreverent Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), which he directed and…
Read More