James Gunn's The Suicide Squad is expected to be DC's R-Rated answer to Guardians of the Galaxy: a zany, lovable band of misfits set to tackle a situation that is far beyond their pay-grade, and all by the same director. As the first wave of trailers has dropped, it seems the project is already getting a lot of positive attention, with fans looking forward to a more lighthearted, irreverent film set in DC's Extended Universe of live-action films.
The first looks at the film showed off quite a few characters, ranging from Margot Robbie's return as Harley Quinn, to Idris Elba as Bloodsport, and John Cena as Peacemaker, all with their own eccentricities and personality defects. It also reintroduced audiences to the concept of The Suicide Squad, a team of washed-up villains set to perform extremely dangerous government operations in hopes of getting reduced prison sentences.
Of course, The Suicide Squad has one detail that makes it stand out beyond it's wacky characters and connections to the DC Universe: it's also rated R. This is fairly rare for a superhero film, which generally try to aim for a rating closer to PG-13 so kids are able to watch it without being turned away at the door. Recently, however, Joker made headlines as the most successful R-Rated film of all time, proving an audience does exist for more mature, explicit comic-book films.
If that isn't enough to convince people, however, The Suicide Squad has just broken another record before it even comes out. The film's 'red band' trailer has the most views of any R-Rated trailer in its first week, just beating out Mortal Kombat, which broke the same record not too long ago. Clearly, people are excited about the project, and they aren't being turned away by the age rating.
That's good news for the film, as any R-Rated project runs the risk of diminished viewership due to age restrictions. If the project can maintain this momentum, it shows that there is room in the traditional comic-book film market for more adult entries. Indeed, if the DC Extended Universe can market itself as a more varied alternative to the MCU, that could put it in a strong position as a complement to Marvel, rather than direct competition.
In the meantime, there's still a good few months before The Suicide Squad is actually released, so audiences will have to keep watch for the next look at the film whenever Warner Bros. sees fit to release it. Hopefully, those trailer views convert into strong ticket sales, and happy audiences, when it comes out later this year.
The Suicide Squad hits theaters and HBO Max on August 6th.
Source: Collider