As of right now, a Suicide Squad sequel has not been confirmed. However, despite the critical pounding the movie took, its $700 million haul at the worldwide box office surely leaves the door wide open for Task Force X to return in the not too distant future. Chances are that Warner Bros. are thinking about how best to approach their next adventure, and new members are a must.
While plenty of familiar faces will no doubt return, El Diablo is no more and Harley Quinn was broken out of Belle Reve by The Joker, so at least a couple of spots are going to need to be filled.
What you'll find here then is a look at ten characters who should all be considered for the Suicide Squad sequel if and when it happens. From bad guys who have previously appeared in live-action to those who have yet to make their big screen debut, any one of these villains joining the franchise would shake it up in a significant way as they all have the potential to really steal the show...
10. Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy is about to make her presence felt in the upcoming third season of Gotham, but a more comic book faithful version of the character hitting the big screen is a must. The much maligned Batman and Robin obviously dropped the ball with the character in a major way, but a Suicide Squad sequel could make great use of her.
In recent years, Ivy's ability to control plant life has been brought to the forefront, and you need only think back to the amazing Batman: Arkham Knight video game for an idea of the sort of epic visuals which could very well accompany her involvement in this movie. Another advantage of using Ivy here would be that her appearance has the potential to further flesh out Batman's world and may very well even set the stage for her to show up in the Harley Quinn spinoff as the two are actually close in the comic books.
9. Cheetah
If you're not all that familiar with the DC Universe, there's a very good chance you won't know who Cheetah is. In the comic books, the character has a very long history with Wonder Woman, so adding one of the Amazonian warrior's rogues to the world of Suicide Squad might make a nice change from the focus being primarily on Batman's bad guys (it could also open the door to a cameo from Gal Gadot similar to how The Flash and Caped Crusader showed up in the first instalment).
With an appearance which definitely makes her stand out from the crowd and a feral nature which makes her perhaps even more evil and dangerous than the likes of Harley Quinn and Killer Croc, Cheetah is a character with the potential to really shine in a team based move like this given the chance.
8. Bane
When we last saw Bane, he was being played by the hard to understand Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises. However, as great as the British actor was in the role, he wasn't exactly portraying a comic book faithful version of the villain, and so it would be great to see a truly monstrous Bane - powered up with Venom - make his presence felt in the DC Films Universe. Given Bane's history with being locked up, seeing him behind bars in a Suicide Squad sequel has the potential to be a lot of fun, especially when he's actually unleashed by Amanda Waller.
The threat being faced by Task Force X will obviously need to be pretty damn powerful to justify his inclusion and unlike Killer Croc, his appearance would need to be enhanced by CGI to make him look as formidable as his comic book counterpart. Get that right though, and Warner Bros. would be on to a winner here.
7. Killer Frost
If you watch The Flash TV show, Killer Frost is no doubt a character you will already be very familiar with. While that series treated us to an Earth-2 version of the villain, it would be good to see her big screen debut ramp up her abilities enough to make her a real force to be reckoned with in the DC Films Universe.
While Frost doesn't have the same sort of loyal following as Harley Quinn, Warner Bros. finding the right actress for the part and giving her a really juicy role in the Suicide Squad sequel could change that and go some way in making her a standout in the same way El Diablo was in the recently released first instalment. This character would bring a very different sort of firepower to Task Force X, and Killer Frost is visually distinctive enough to make the next roster feel really fresh compared to what's come before.
6. Bronze Tiger
Bronze Tiger made a handful of appearance in Arrow as a member of the Suicide Squad, but that series arguably never quite managed to do him justice. Despite having no superpowers, the villain is considered one of the most deadly fighters in the world thanks to his martial arts skills, while he also just so happens to rock some mean claws which can cut through just about anything. Throw in the fact that he often dons a mask which makes him look like an actual tiger, and we have a bad guy who could shake up this franchise in a significant way.
Bronze Tiger would bring even more diversity to Task Force X while also helping the sequel put a greater focus on hand to hand combat after a series of shootouts in the first instalment. He may not be the flashiest villain listed here, but don't let that fool you into thinking this isn't a character with some serious potential to shine.
5. King Shark
David Ayer has revealed that an earlier draft of Suicide Squad included King Shark. However, his reluctance to include a fully CGI character in the movie (if only he'd felt the same way about the awful looking Incubus) meant that didn't happen, but it would definitely be good to see this fan-favourite bad guy show up in the sequel. After all, Killer Croc ended up being pretty underwhelming when it came to being Task Force X's most monstrous member, so it would be nice to see an actual beast unleashed the next time the team is sent into action.
Bear in mind that The Flash TV show has already shown that King Shark can work in a live-action setting, but when you throw in the budget a movie like this would have, it's easy to imagine the villain looking even more amazing and being part of some truly memorable and awe inspiring action scenes.
4. Captain Cold
Having Killer Frost and Captain Cold on the same team would be a bit much, but if I had to choose between the two, I think Leonard Snart would come out on top. The leader of The Rogues (a group of villains rumoured to be showing up in The Flash movie), Cold has plenty of experience when it comes to working as part of a team, something which would make it all the more amusing to see him as a fish out of water as he attempts to throw his weight around in this new group of bad guys being controlled by Amanda Waller.
Cold's history with the Suicide Squad in the comic books is fairly brief, but if recent reports about him and his sister being the lead bad guys in the Scarlet Speedster's solo outing are accurate, having him show up here only to later escape with Captian Boomerang ahead of the Rogues being assembled in a sequel to The Flash would be pretty damn cool.
3. Plastique
Plastique is a character who has made her presence felt in both Smallville and The Flash, but an appearance on the big screen has so far evaded her. That's probably because she's the sort of villain best served in a supporting role, so where better for her than a Suicide Squad sequel? A demolitions expert terrorist with explosive powers, Plastique has shown herself to be a real danger many times over the years and could bring some serious firepower to Task Force X depending on what their mission ends up being.
Like El Diablo before her, the villain could prove to be of real use to the team, while David Ayer - or whoever else ends up at the helm of this movie - could really have some fun with her powers in some inventive action sequences. With the right arc, Plastique could be taken from being a C-List character to being a bona fide A-Lister.
2. Black Adam
This is probably wishful thinking, but seeing Dwayne Johnson show up as Black Adam in the Suicide Squad sequel would be all sorts of awesome. Just like the Fast and Furious and G.I. Joe franchises, The Rock's presence could be exactly what this movie needs to move past the mixed reaction to the first instalment. I mean, it's safe to assume that Warner Bros. will want to do something more with the character after he's defeated by Shazam in that hero's upcoming solo outing, so why not have Amanda Waller force this Godlike being to do her bidding?
To justify his presence, Task Force X would need to go up against a truly powerful foe. Of course, if fan theories about a Justice League vs. Suicide Squad movie are correct, Black Adam could very well be the game changer that the likes of Deadshot and Captain Boomerang need to even the playing field.
1. Black Manta
With Black Manta reportedly set to serve as the big bad of the upcoming Aquaman solo movie, it makes sense that the villain could end up making the leap from that franchise to this one. There's a lot of history between this guy and the King of Atlantis, and while that's something which will have likely already been explored by the time this Suicide Squad sequel rolls around, it could be potentially very interesting to follow Black Manta's journey after his defeat at the hands of Aquaman in 2018.
His underwater abilities and experience with battling someone as powerful as Arthur Curry would make him a pivotal new addition to Task Force X and could even open the door to a cameo from his archnemesis. Recently, Black Manta actually betrayed the team when given the chance, so that could be a plot thread worth exploring on the big screen if handled the right way.
Which of these characters would you most like to see in a possible Suicide Squad sequel? Have we missed any other deserving candidates? Share your thoughts in the usual place.