Warner Bros. just surprised us with a brand new Suicide Squad trailer and to be honest, it might be the most exciting new preview to drop since Captain America: Civil War back in November. Set to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” (an overdone song choice to be sure, but one that admittedly works well with tone and style of this trailer), this first official look at DC’s upcoming villain ensemble (the Comic Con sizzle reel was leaked, so this is the first trailer whose release Warner was actually able to control) is not only well-edited, it’s also a lot of fun. In stark contrast to the mishandled Batman v Superman previews that seem to pack in way too many details, the Suicide Squad trailer offers a good glimpse of the look and feel of the film, while still keeping some mysteries close to its chest. It also does a great job of presenting the various members of the titular ragtag team and each one of them looks like a pretty interesting character in their own right.
Considering the number of quick cuts and flashy imagery that populates the trailer, it’s pretty easy to miss quite a few things (and let’s be honest: most people are probably watching it just to see more of Jared Leto’s now-infamous Joker). With that in mind, we’ve rounded up some of the more interesting bits from the trailer that you may have missed the first time through to try and make sense of DC’s most outrageous-looking film to date.
6. All The Hilarious, Awesome Masks
Admittedly, this is a pretty insignificant detail, but did you get a load of all the weird masks in this trailer? There’s a guy with an eyeball mask that recalls the Neversoft logo (the team that made the original Tony Hawk video games), a pair of Joker henchmen in business suits and shark teeth masks, and even someone in a panda costume wielding an assault rifle. These over-the-top masks and costumes really help reinforce the fun, slightly campy tone Suicide Squad seems to be going for and best of all, they go a long way in making up for that terrible Joker character design. Bleh.
5. This Tree
We don’t have the slightest idea what the deal with this magical-looking tree is, but it looks like it’s pretty significant. The trailer briefly shows Harley, Katana, Killer Croc, and Rick Flagg witnessing some sort of explosion in a train station, in the form of a colorful tree that looks like it was ripped straight out of Thor’s realm of Asgard. It could just be some sort of hologram, but there’s also the chance that the tree ties into something mystical and we’re really hoping it’s the latter. This film already looks like it’s breaking the grim and dour mold of DC’s other slate of films, so it would be cool to see Suicide Squad go full Guardians of the Galaxy and have a totally bizarre (but awesome) tone. Speaking of which…
4. Is That You, Groot?
As the messaging in the trailer makes abundantly clear, Suicide Squad upends the traditional superhero film mold by having the villains play the hero, which means that whatever the Suicide Squad has been brought in to deal with, it must be quite a threat. We still have no idea what the team will be up against, but the trailer does briefly depict a mysterious creature laying waste to a subway car…and it bears more than a striking resemblance to Groot from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Now, it’s highly doubtful that Suicide Squad just straight up ripped off Marvel for its villain design, but it’s still hard to look at the trailer and not see Groot. We really hope that’s not actually the case.
3. Jared Leto’s Joker is Obsessed With His Outfits
It’s pretty hard to miss Jared Leto’s Joker, considering he pops up repeatedly throughout this new trailer. While the jury’s still out on whether his performance will be any good or not, one thing we’re pretty sure of is that this may be the most fashion-conscious Joker we’ve ever seen. In each one of his brief shots he’s wearing a different outfit and the overall impression given is that this is a Joker who cares about being a sharp dresser. This is in stark contrast to Heath Ledger’s Joker, who had more of a grimier, devil may care approach to his fashion statements. The clothing diversity may not really matter if Jared Leto doesn’t end up giving a great performance, but you still have to give credit to Leto and the filmmakers for throwing this little design decision in to help differentiate Leto from Ledger’s portrayal.
2. The Joker’s Chemical Baptism
One of the most intriguing shots in the trailer shows the Joker diving into what appears to be a chemical vat, which as anyone familiar with the character’s origins knows is a pretty significant part of Joker lore. It then shows the Joker and Harley in a vat together and from the look of things, the Joker appears to be giving Harley a twisted baptism of some sort. It’s hard to say whether this scene is part of a flashback sequence or not, but it could mean that we get to see Harley’s transformation from Dr. Harleen Quinzel into the deranged lunatic known as Harley Quinn. Either way, the Joker-Harley interactions are sure to be a highlight in the finished film.
1. Hey, It’s Scott Eastwood!
While it’s a bit disappointing to not see Ben Affleck’s Batman pop up in the trailer, we’re glad that Warner Bros. had the restraint to leave him out, as it will only make his appearance in the final film that much better. The one Suicide Squad mystery that we can’t wait to get answers to, however, is just what the heck Scott Eastwood is doing in this movie. We see a brief shot of the actor standing among a group of soldiers during Harley’s “voices” rant, but there’s nothing notable about his actual appearance that hints at which character he’s playing. The prevailing theory is that Eastwood will be playing popular DC mercenary Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke (and we’d have absolutely no problem with this because Deathstroke is awesome) but if that’s the case, Warner Bros. is doing an excellent job of keeping it under wraps. Unless some new information leaks between now and August when Suicide Squad is released, we’ll just have to keep theorizing as to who Eastwood is playing.
