#Mr. Freeze and Other DC Supervillans That Were Considered for The Suicide Squad

James Gunn had every supervillain from DC to choose from when putting together the script for The Suicide Squad, and the filmmaker has just revealed a plethora of other characters considered that didn’t make the cut. Set to be released in theaters and on HBO Max next month, the new movie marks Gunn’s first appearance into the DCEU. It’s the result of his brief hiatus from Disney and Marvel, of which he has since returned to work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Stepping into The Suicide Squad’s production, Gunn was pretty much given free creative reign by Warner Bros. to do whatever he wanted. He was free to bring back several major players from the previous Suicide Squad, including Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. He also introduced a wide variety of other DC supervillains, many of them making their first appearance in a live-action movie, including John Cena’s Peacemaker, Peter Capaldi’s the Thinker, and David Dastmalchian’s Polka-Dot Man.
RELATED: James Gunn Says Peacemaker Spin-Off Series and The Suicide Squad Are Very Different
Putting his final list together for the supervillains featured in The Suicide Squad wasn’t easy. There were many other names from DC Comics that Gunn wanted to bring in, but they just didn’t fit into the story that he had crafted. Taking to Twitter on Saturday, Gunn revealed several other characters he’d considered by posting artwork of them as they appeared in the actual comic books.

“When I first considered taking the job of writing The Suicide Squad I kept a file folder of characters I was considering. Here are just a few (of many) that didn’t make the cut (for now!),” James Gunn writes in the tweet thread. “Every character in The Suicide Squad was chosen for a purpose, great or small, and although I love many of these other characters, they didn’t serve the story quite as well. I am of course open to using them in the future. And there are many more wonderful @DCComics characters where these came from. See The Suicide Squad in theaters next month!”

When I first considered taking the job of writing #TheSuicideSquad I kept a file folder of characters I was considering. Here are just a few (of many) that didn’t make the cut (for now!) https://t.co/xvOoEzJwMIpic.twitter.com/hwVFB9wi6W

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 3, 2021

Every character in #TheSuicideSquad was chosen for a purpose, great or small, and although I love many of these other characters, they didn’t serve the story quite as well. pic.twitter.com/MLxt36FPaZ

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 3, 2021

I am of course open to using them in the future. And there are many more wonderful @DCComics characters where these came from. See #TheSuicideSquad in theaters next month! pic.twitter.com/gRExWsy1yG

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 3, 2021

In order, the characters shown in Gunn’s tweets include: Livewire, Punch & Jewelee, Black Spider, Deathstroke, Man-Bat, Plastique, Chemo, KG Beast, Solomon Grundy, Rainbow Creature, Gunhawk, and Knockout. Answering questions in follow-up tweets, Gunn also told his fans he considered Bronze Tiger, Killer Frost, and Mr. Freeze as well.

Yes, I considered him. But I was pretty much only using actual villains (other than Flag), so I ruled him out pretty early. Same reason I didn’t use Katana.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 3, 2021

Yes, Killer Frost and Mister Freeze were both on my list. (But the DCEU Starro doesn’t have this weakness).

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 3, 2021

There’s still no shortage of characters in The Suicide Squad. That includes Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, John Cena as Peacemaker, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, Sylvester Stallone as King Shark, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, and Peter Capaldi as the Thinker. Along with David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Michael Rooker as Savant, Nathan Fillion as T.D.K., Sean Gunn as Weasel, Flula Borg as Javelin, and Pete Davidson as Blackguard.

The Suicide Squad will be released in theaters on Aug. 6, 2021. That same day it will also be made available to stream for one month on HBO Max. If the movie does well, we might see Gunn return to the DCEU some day where he might get the chance to use some of those other supervillains.

Topics: Suicide Squad