‘Suicide Squad’ Release Date, News and Re-shoots; Damage Control for Warner Brothers and DC Comics Cinematic Universe After ‘Batman V. Superman’?

Apr 12, 2016 12:47 AM EDT

Considering that Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice has not been receiving the best of reviews, it has caused Warner Brothers to at least slightly re-think their DC Cinematic Universe.  Next on the table is Suicide Squad, and there are some reshoots being done to it that have led many to believe that the film's original form would have done more damage than Batman V. Superman.  Many have complained that the film as well as its predecessor, Man of Steel, are "too dark", and Suicide Squad, with its concept of supervillains granted leniency to help the government, needed some brightening.  This is the latest news on the Suicide Squad reshoots and release date. 

Entertainment Weekly says that the recent reshoots for Suicide Squad are meant to "lighten up" the current dark undertone that is appearing with DC's Cinematic universe, and that the most recent reshoots are to add more humor to the film.  Jai Courtney, who plays Captain Boomerang in the film, has responded, saying that there is plenty of humor in the film, and that "I wouldn't say we're going back to make it funnier, there's some additional action stuff that we've been doing, which is pretty dope.  Really we're kind of adding in that sense."

The NY Daily News takes it a step further, saying that "every joke in the movie is in the trailer".  The film just had a new trailer unveiled, and it can be seen below.  There is some humor, and it is at a dark level to match the dark yet somehow colorful look of the film. 

Some say that the reshoots are being done to avoid "career suicide", and that these reshoots are "tens of millions of dollars big".  Some have said that the Suicide Squad film could have more Batman, and Ben Affleck is going to have at least a cameo in the film.  It would be quite simple to film more scenes with Batman provided he was wearing the costume using any actor.    

Right now, it is very smart for Warner Brothers to completely re-think their DC Universe after the plummet of ticket sales in the second week of Batman V. Superman.  The issue with Suicide Squad is that the film has already been made, but film versions of Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, and the Justice League movies are still in production.  These films are more than likely to get a makeover that hopefully won't involve costly reshoots. 

It is possible that the reshoots could kill whatever was intended that the Suicide Squad film would be, and the end result will be a mess of frantic last-minute editing decisions.  We will have to see when the film is released on August 5, 2016.  The film has no shortage of talent with Will Smith (Deadshot), Margo Robbie (Harley Quinn), Cara Delevingne (Enchantress), Jared Leto (the iconic Joker), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Killer Croc), and Viola Davis (Amanda Waller) among others.