DC Comics via their Channel 52 promo page at the back of all DC titles has unveiled the line-up for their upcoming "New Suicide Squad" comic book series which will be hitting the stores beginning March.
The new super-villains who will be forced go on heroic missions for the government in exchange for commuted prison sentences are: the energy-sucking Parasite, the undead Blackhand, Batman's nemesis Poison Ivy, the Reverse Flash, the murderous Cheetah, and the Court of Owls' Talon, another undead assassin.
The announcement from DC Comics will not affect the ongoing production of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Suicide Squad" movie, the third installment of the DC Comics shared universe films following 2013's "Man of Steel" and "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" which will be released on March 25, 2016. According to the studio, the "Suicide Squad" film will start shooting in Toronto from mid-April to September and is due for release August 5, 2016.
"Suicide Squad" will have Will Smith as Deadshot and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, both known arch-enemies of Batman. The others also confirmed to be in the cast of the upcoming action flick include Jared Leto as the Joker, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Cara Delevingne as the Enchantress, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. Currently, the studio is still scouting for a replacement for Tom Hardy who had to drop out of his earlier commitment to play Rick Flag because of scheduling conflicts with his "Revenant" film. Joel Kinnaman is reportedly in talks with the studio for the Rick Flag role. Jesse Eisenberg is also rumored to reprise his Lex Luthor role in the film.
David Ayer, best known for his work on "Training Day," "End of Watch" and "Fury," is attached to direct and write the screenplay for "Suicide Squad." Charles Roven is producing and executive producing are Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson and DC's Geoff Johns.
According to the studio's synopsis, a secret government agency run by Amanda Waller, named A.R.G.U.S. creates a task force comprised of super villains. They call it: the Suicide Squad because sometimes... they don't come back. They are assigned to execute dangerous tasks in exchange for shorter prison sentences. Operating from the Belle Reve Penitentiary, the incarcerated super villains are made to undertake high-risk black ops missions as deniable assets for the United States government.