'The Suicide Squad' cast on fearing for their character's fate
'The Suicide Squad' cast on fearing for the fate of their characters
Video Transcript
[CRASHING]
- I'm a superhero!
[MUSIC - GRANDSON, "RAIN"]
GRANDSON: (SINGING) I do not mind--
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
KEVIN POLOWY: You said early on that you'd been given the license to kill off anyone you wanted. You definitely deliver. What can you say about the thought process that goes into each and every one of those in determining who lives, who dies? I mean, are you are you going back and forth? Are you changing your mind at all? What can-- what can you say about it?
JAMES GUNN: I did change my mind. You know, there are some people that-- in my treatment-- that died, that ended up not dying. There's some people that didn't die, that ended up dying.
As I'm making the screenplay, I knew a lot of people that I was bringing on that we're just going to die early on. And then other people, the story, kind of, takes its own shape. And I'm really getting into the flow of the story and making sure that every single instant, as being as over the top as the movie is, has as much veracity and emotion and sincerity as possible.
KEVIN POLOWY: What's your experience, coming into it, that reading this script-- are you kind of flipping the pages, worrying if you're going to be killed off on the next page? Is it more exciting?
DANIELA MELCHIOR: I wasn't afraid if I was going to die or not, because it's such an honor just to be able to just enter into this really gigantic industry in "The Suicide Squad" and with James Gunns.
IDRIS ELBA: I walked in knowing that there was a central character to this story. I didn't know whether he was going to live or die, but, you know, there's a real, sort of like, wow, if I just made one "Suicide Squad" movie and my character lives or dies, it's a great move, you know what I mean? And because it's working with James Gunn.
ALICE BRAGA: I mean, for me, didn't mind at all. I was like, I just love James. And whatever he does, it's so exciting that even dying on his hand, I think, it's as exciting. As soon as I got to know that he was directing that, I was like, that's it, I'm in.
MAYLING NG: I think when you get an offer with James Gunn, you really don't care about, how long is it going to last? Or what-- You just like, oh, I'm working with James Gunn.
MARGOT ROBBIE: The minute I started reading the script, I was like, [BLEEP], no one is safe. If this mother- [BLEEP] kills me, I will find him--
[LAUGHTER]
--and I will kill him and rewrite the [MUTED] damn script myself.
[VIDEO GAME MUSIC]
Thankfully, I didn't die. So I can keep playing Harley Quinn. She comes close to dying, but she doesn't die.
FLULA BORG: Any time that I survive one additional page on any script at any moment is incredibly exciting to me. I'm the German Sean Bean. If you keep me alive for anything longer than two lines of dialogue, I am just absolutely pumped. So I was just so surprised and so excited every time I survived.
JAI COURTNEY: I die and everything, dude. Everything I do, I die in. I'm not saying I die in this. I'm just saying I die a lot.
DAVID DASTMALCHIAN: The stakes have to matter or you're not invested. And James has said from the beginning, don't get attached. When you go to the cinema, get your popcorn, get your Reese's Pieces, get your large soda. And then get your scorecard and keep track, and hopefully your favorites will make it to the end.
JAMES GUNN: I believe and I love these characters fully, even the small characters. Everything, kind of, went in its own path. And then some people died that I didn't see. And then one person I just couldn't kill.
KEVIN POLOWY: I assume that's Peacemaker, who got his own HBO Max--
JAMES GUNN: Well, that's a different one.
[LAUGHTER]
That isn't even one of them I was talking about.
KEVIN POLOWY: A certain doctor, who I'm sure is unkillable in the (LAUGHING) DC Universe.
