Though one of the highest grossing films of 2016, Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League could set Harley and co. back on the right path.
Released this past weekend during DC FanDome, Kill the Justice League’s trailer features seemingly everything viewers were promised back in 2016. Here are a few of the ways Kill the Justice League appears to have learned from Suicide Squad’s missteps.
After a new Suicide Squad movie trailer roared onto screens in early 2016 with Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” rocking in the background, audiences were expecting the film to be DC’s Batman: Arkham Knight, received an M for Mature rating. That legacy, combined with the game’s violence and Boomerang’s choice words at the end of the trailer, set up Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League to deliver the wildly inappropriate ride fans have been waiting for since 2016.
Suicide Squad Has A Compelling Villain
One of the most common complaints levied against the 2016 Suicide Squad film was that the main villain, Enchantress, was simply uninteresting. Though Enchantress had all the potential to be a thrilling enemy for the film’s “heroes,” Suicide Squad’s efforts to focus on her backstory and make her a sympathetic character resulted in Enchantress getting lost in a film critics decried for its number of character introductions. Even writer/director David Ayer has since stated that, if given the chance, he would likely change the film’s villain to the Joker, an instantly recognizable and compelling character. It seems the team at Rocksteady were listening, because they have employed the same tactics by implementing Superman as the game’s villain along with the rest of the Justice League, instantly hooking even the most casual DC fans. Though the real villain is whatever (or whoever) is likely controlling Superman, it’s the familiarity of the villains in the trailer (and the title) that will get gamers’ attention.
Suicide Squad Has Familiar Faces
In the same fashion, a major feature of more characters from the rich DC canon will undoubtedly be shown off later, keeping the cast small and recognizable in this first trailer (and potentially the first part of the game) allows players to latch onto the familiar and invest in the story.
Suicide Squad Has Time on Its Side
AAA titles like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League take a notoriously long time to produce, and with good reason – making video games is a lot of work! While Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad has at least another two years of development ahead, David Ayer had only six weeks to release the Ayer cut.
