Joel Kinnaman played the leader of the Suicide Squad, Rick Flag, in the old DCEU, but the last time we saw the old soldier, he’d come down with an unfortunate case of being dead. Still, the DCEU is dead, long live the DCU, and Kinnaman’s keen to return as a new character, although this time he wants to be a villain.
That’s right in the rebooted DCU, Kinnaman wants to swap his yellow t-shirt for the green and purple (it’s always green and purple, isn’t it?) of a DC villain in an upcoming DC movie, or at least it’s an idea he’s entertained in the past. Kinnaman joked about it while on the Post-Credit Podcast when host Eric Italiano asked if he ever gets pissed at Gunn for killing off Flag.
“Yeah,” Kinnaman laughed. “I love that scene, though. It was such a good way to go. But, for sure, maybe I’ll come back and play some nasty villain in a couple of years.”
It is hard to say how serious Kinnaman was, but Gunn has a reputation for working with the same actors again and again. So, with that in mind, it’s possible Kinnaman will return as one of the more deplorable DC characters in the future, but to be honest, we’re doubtful.
Why? Well, we know that one of the few survivors of the DCEU’s reboot will be Christopher Smith, aka the violent vigilante Peacemaker, who’ll be back for Peacemaker season 2 sometime in 2025. Part of Peacemaker’s story was trying to find redemption for the dreadful things he’s done in the past — which includes killing Flag.
It might undermine Peacemaker’s entire narrative arc if there were a villain running around the new DCU who looks exactly like Flag. Maybe we’re reading too much into it; these are just superhero movies, after all, but Gunn seems like the type of filmmaker who wouldn’t want to undermine his own story for the sake of casting a friend… that said, he put Nathan Fillion in all the Guardians movies so maybe we’re well off base?
If you want some more concrete information, why not check out our guide breaking down everything you need to know about the Superman Legacy? We’ve also got an article explaining how to watch the DC movies in order, which basically untangles the messy web of superhero movies.
Finally, we’ve got a list of all the new movies coming in 2023 and an article detailing the 105 best movies ever made.