SO BAD, SO GOOD
‘Suicide Squad’ villains Elba and Cena must save the world
Playing bad guys in “The Suicide Squad” felt really good for Idris Elba and John Cena.
The actors are two of the big additions to DC Comics’ latest movie about supervillains tasked with coming together to save the world.
Complicating the high-stakes mission is a bitter rivalry between Elba’s Bloodsport and Cena’s Peacemaker.
“Every member of Suicide Squad is chosen for their unique talents,” Cena told the Daily News. “Every member is different . ... Everyone has definable skills, except for Peacemaker and Bloodsport. They’re identical. Damn near identical, so in a way, you have that alpha-male struggle.
“Idris is great, because as animated and over-the-top as I am, he is so snarky . ... Not only are we identical skills, but we’re opposite personalities.”
Out Aug. 6 in theaters and on HBO Max, “The Suicide Squad” introduces a ragtag group of inmates who are offered reduced prison sentences if they can successfully defuse an international conspiracy.
Elba’s Bloodsport is a reluctant leader who boasts an assassin like skill set and an affinity for weapons. The similarly combative Peacemaker is obsessed with bringing peace, even if it means unleashing unbridled violence to get it.
The movie serves as a stand-alone sequel to 2016’s “Suicide Squad” and features a mostly new cast, with Margot Robbie returning as the crazed Harley Quinn and Joel Kinnaman back as field leader Rick Flag.
It’s written and directed by James Gunn — who also helms Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies — and features a blend of raucous humor, action-packed violence and emotional substance.
“You can expect a spectacle,” Elba, 48, told The News. “You can expect lots of drama and action moments, but also heart and humor. There’s a new cast to this franchise — with Margot Robbie, and [Kinnaman] in the central position — which really brings a new life to the Suicide Squad family.”
Cena said Gunn encouraged him to portray the helmet-wearing Peacemaker as a “bro-ey” version of Marvel’s straitlaced Captain America.
The longtime WWE superstar believes his character has “misguided” motives.
“Keep in mind, the Suicide Squad are villains,” Cena, 44, said. “They’re villainous characters, for whatever reason, that have been chosen to save the world. I believe at the core of every villain, unless they are truly a corrupted mind and truly just want to watch the world burn, they have to believe what they’re doing is right and they’re misunderstood. Like, the world just doesn’t get it.”
Elba didn’t know which comic-book character he’d be playing when he started discussing the movie with Gunn.
He ultimately found his way to Bloodsport, who is motivated to complete the mission in order to protect his daughter.
“He’s this guy that’s just sort of had a hard life, had a bit of trauma in his upbringing. He’s a military man. He’s sort of scarred by that, but he still has a heart and soul,” Elba explained.
“This character was this guy that had this big, machismo persona, but also had this fragility, this real sort of soft center. He takes the audience on a journey to discover that.”
Much of the humor and tension in the movie stems from what Elba describes as a “toxic” dynamic between Bloodsport and Peacemaker.
Both actors enjoyed exploring the comic book genre in ways traditional hero stories can’t.
“A superhero has already leaned into virtue,” Cena said. “A superhero already lives to what they consider their moral core values as being good. They’re close to perfect. ... It’s a much more entertaining ride when you start with a bunch of misfits who are heavily flawed. You want to root for them.”