Joel Kinnaman says “insane” The Suicide Squad will be “heavily R-rated”, praises John Cena’s Peacemaker

With what many thought impossible becoming real with Zack Snyder getting to release his cut of Justice League, many fans started wondering if the same re-release treatment could be given to another DC Comics blockbuster that had disappointed on release. Like Justice League, David Ayer’s Suicide Squad saw plenty of studio meddling, including changing his original plans for an R-rating to the eventual PG-13 release we saw. While an R-rated “Ayer Cut” release of Suicide Squad doesn’t appear likely though, fans may just get something even better with director James Gunn’s upcoming follow-up, the confusingly named The Suicide Squad.

While Warner Bros. has yet to officially reveal the rating for the 2021 ensemble superhero comedy release, The Suicide Squad may be “heavily R-rated”. That’s according to Joel Kinnaman who reprises his role as Rick Flagg, one of the few cast members from Ayer’s film who will be returning for the follow-up. Speaking to THR, Kinnaman spoke about the Gunn-scripted movie, saying “that movie is going to be insane”.

The script is so funny. Every page of that script was funny, and every page made me laugh. James just has this command of that genre, but also over every aspect of comedy and even the marketing. He just understands the world so well, and since he wrote it, he really reinvents not just the concepts, but also the characters. For me, it was like I did my first comedy, but it’s like heavily R-rated. So much of the action is practical with real explosions, and yeah, that movie is going to be insane. 

We got our first look at The Suicide Squad during DC FanDome, with a behind-the-scenes featurette showing off all kinds of wacky craziness for the star-studded film. That included the likes of John Cena’s absurd character Peacemaker who “believes in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill along the way”. While initially being cast often as the grim muscled action hero, the wrestler-turned-actor has shown off hilarious comic timing in recent roles and Kinnaman heaped similar praised on his co-star.

It’s such a great cast that [James] put together. John Cena, that motherfucker is a comedic genius. No one would make us laugh on set more than John. Every scene he was in, he would go on an improvised tangent.

Continuing on in the interview, Kinnaman spoke about Gunn controlled the crazy cast of The Suicide Squad, with the experience being unlike anything he had worked on before.

There are so many chops in that cast, and James has such a command of it all. He knows exactly what he wants, and sometimes it’s going to take him 10 takes to get there, or it’s going to take one. And he knows exactly when he gets what he needs because his ear is so attuned to it. It was a real learning experience for me, too, because I’d never done a comedy in that way before. So I asked James to work with me and teach me this shit. And yeah, we had so much fun doing it. That movie is going to be a fucking monster. Honestly, even though I’m in it, I can’t wait to see it as a fan. 

The Suicide Squad is currently scheduled for release on 6 August 2021, which is still a way off. With that it will probably be a while before we get any official confirmation of the film’s rating. With Joker and Birds of Prey, Warner Bros has shown that unlike competitors Marvel, the studio has no problem with going R-rated on its releases, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Kinnaman got it right here.

Last Updated: September 21, 2020