Apparently, by all accounts, the Suicide Squad movie is really happening. Even though big names like Will Smith and Jared Leto have been cast, I’m still having a hard time believing that DC Comics and Warner Bros. have chosen the Suicide Squad over the entire rest of their future lineup to make a movie about. Suicide Squad is the direct follow-up to Dawn of Justice. It boggles the mind!

But hey, I’m not one to turn down a good superhero movie, and maybe this will be a really good superhero movie!

Why isn’t the giant shark man in the movie?!

The Suicide Squad is one of those great comic book concepts. It’s about a team of super-villains put together by the government to run dangerous black-ops missions, and in exchange they get time knocked off their prison sentences. It’s a pretty ingenious way to take a bunch of classic villain characters and turn them into protagonists without erasing their menace. And quite honestly, the concept makes for a pretty awesome and original superhero movie. This won’t be an origin story, this won’t be a hero’s journey; this is an action film starring comic book badasses…so maybe that’s why they’re making it next!

Filming is scheduled to begin next year, so there’s plenty of time for producers to check out the six things I want in the Suicide Squad movie! You can check them out after the jump, and feel free to add some of your own ideas in the comments!

6. Go Ahead and Have Crossovers

I want as much Eisenberg as humanly possible

Rumors have it that Jesse Eisenberg might reprise his role as Lex Luthor in the Suicide Squad movie, and I am totally fine with that. We all know what DC is doing here: they’re trying to catch up to Marvel’s success. So why not go for broke? Why pretend like they’re doing anything different? So add Lex Luthor! Heck, add a Batman cameo, if you’re going to be using the Joker. Why hold back a cameo or an Easter Egg that you know will drive the audience wild? There is no doubt that Warner Bros. would love to create the same type of cinematic universe as Marvel, so just do it and make everybody happy.

5. CCH Pounder as Amanda Waller

With a dash of Pounder

In the original Suicide Squad comics, their leader was Amanda “The Wall” Waller, a big, ballsy, tough-as-nails battle ax who managed to keep her team of psychopaths in line by sheer force of will. She’s a schemer and a leader, a ‘power behind the throne’ kind of character who commands respect wherever she goes.

You know who makes a terrible Amanda Waller? Cynthia Addai-Robinson from the TV show Arrow.

She’s only filmed in the dark

DC recently had the bonehead idea to turn Amanda “The Wall” Waller into a tiny, waifish super model (both in the comics and on TV), while still expecting her to carry the same dominant physicality. But it doesn’t work. Whether in the comics or on Arrow, this new, skinny Amanda Waller has none of the gravitas. Addai-Robinson is a fine actor, but she’s terribly miscast. She’s like a little girl trying to imitate Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury.

So why not cast the most obvious and perfect choice in the world as the movie’s Amanda Waller? CCH Pounder was born to play the character, and has already voiced her several times across various DC animated features. Pounder is Amanda Waller, it’s the perfect match. Don’t cast Oprah Winfrey, don’t cast Angela Bassett; make the right choice and get CCH Pounder on the phone right away!

4. Legit Costumes

Lint included

When the first X-Men movie came out, it made sense to dress them all in matching black leather. It looked cool, it worked for the characters, and for a world not used to superhero movies yet, it helped transition audiences to accept these costumes. But we’ve come a long way since then. Spider-Man’s costume looks great on the big screen, and it’s as comics accurate as they come. Even Captain America’s star-spangled costume looks fantastic. Audiences aren’t scared of superhero costumes anymore.

So give the Suicide Squad comics accurate costumes – within reason, of course. I don’t mean pick the most ludicrous costume possible from each’s characters history. I mean go ahead and give them modern, badass costumes that fit the characters, while still drawing on their comic book roots. Don’t dress them all in matching black leather because it was cool 10 years ago. Give them real, legit costumes. Heck, almost all of the main characters in the movie so far have had recent modern costumes in other media.

Live action Captain Boomerang is a thing!

The Joker, obviously, looked amazing in The Dark Knight. Boomerang was just on Arrow the other day, looking awesome. Harley Quinn has had half a dozen different ‘modern’ interpretations over the past few years, with even more awesome fan art to boot. And Deadshot has had two different modern costume designs in the Batman: Arkham series of games.

Deadshot: Winter Commando Variant Edition!

These costumes look great, fit the characters and are distinctive enough that everyone will be able to stand out. Don’t be afraid of diving in. Harley Quinn, especially, needs to just look amazing.

3. The Joker and Deadshot Show

Not much in the way of team ups before this

Some people in Internetland aren’t quite happy with the Joker showing up in this Suicide Squad movie. Some are speculating that he might be the villain of the piece, and Newsarama thinks the Joker’s just going to be a Hannibal Lecter type, hanging out in his glass prison advising Waller and the gang. I don’t cotton to either of those theories. I think Joker is the perfect addition to a cinematic Suicide Squad. He needs to be a full member of the team. Heck, he needs to be the star of the film.

Alongside Deadshot, of course.

Will Smith loves wearing masks, right?

I’m all for comic book accuracy in movie adaptations, but I accepted a long time ago that there are going to be changes. And if DC Comics is making a movie about a team-up of famous villains, why would you not put Joker on that team? He’s the most famous, he’s the most interesting, and after the character’s cultural revival in The Dark Knight, he’s still red hot. Newsarama claims that the Joker isn’t a team player, and he shouldn’t be used unless it’s opposite Batman; and while both points are arguable, I think the Joker will shine on the Suicide Squad. He doesn’t have to be used alongside Batman every time. Let Joker get out and interact with other people for once, it might be interesting. Besides, the government agents who put together the Suicide Squad won’t know that about the Joker. They’ll just see another potential warm body to put on their Squad.

So put the Joker right out in front, with all of the murderous insanity he has to offer. Then offset that with Deadshot’s brutal pragmatism. Deadshot is an ‘I’m getting too old for this’ kind of character. He’s tough enough that he won’t put up with Joker’s crap, and cool enough to be out in front when the going gets tough. It’s debatable what kind of character an actor like Will Smith will create, but whoever his Deadshot becomes, I think he’ll be a great foil for the Joker. The two of them should be the main characters, bouncing off each other as they undergo whatever plot the team is put through.

2. Joker’s Secret Plan

He has to have one

Of course, that being said, the Joker should still have an ace up his sleeve. The Joker is a very clever fellow. He’s got internal rules and guidelines for everything he does.  He’s not just a homicidal maniac on the loose. So I wouldn’t mind seeing a climactic twist where the Joker reveals that he’s been cooking something up under the surface the whole time. Maybe the Joker does become the villain of the film, but only after he’s already starred as the breakout character. I don’t know what the Joker’s big reveal could be, but I feel like he should have an extra layer hidden from the audience and the other characters until big reveal.

At which point it’ll be up to Deadshot and the surviving members of the Squad to stop him and win the day!

1. Get Harley Quinn Right

Somebody will some day

I suppose the biggest thing I want this movie to do right is make Harley Quinn a proper star. I want Harley to be fully realized on screen, in a way that makes her the talk of the summer. Harley Quinn should be the new Groot. She’s just such a great character, and is so much fun, that she could be the runaway star of the film. The Joker will be a big draw, sure, but Harley stands to be the wildcard that surprises us all. It won’t be hard either. The fans already love Harley, and there’s so much to love.

But what sort of Harley do they put on screen? She’s evolved so much from her introduction as the Joker’s tortured, spunky sidekick in Batman: The Animated Series. There’s almost no chance in hell the filmmakers will use her classic costume, so expect to see one of the slutty ones on the screen (which is fine, I’ve come to accept them). Will she be the Joker’s devoted follower? Will she be her own independent woman? Will she be a mix of the two?

Or some weird third, fourth or fifth variation?

I’m not sure. And I’m also not sure which I want. I’m a big fan of Harley casting off the Joker and standing on her own two feet. It’s empowering. And both the comics and animated movies love to hook Harley up with Deadshot. But at the same time, it could be part of Joker’s Secret Plan that Harley has been working for him the entire time. She could side with him in the end.

Whatever path they choose for the Clown Princess of Crime, I just want them to do a good job with her character. I have no idea what kind of actor Margot Robbie is, but I have to trust that she was cast correctly. I hope she does a good job. I want Harley to be funny, I want her to be crazy, and I want her to be Harley.

Just don’t overdo the slutty costume thing…

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What do you want to see in the Suicide Squad movie? How do you feel about the casting? Anybody you think is going to be a real standout in the film? Let me know in the comments!

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