Not since Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) has a live action superhero film created as much controversy as that stirred by the premiere of the first Suicide Squad trailer. They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but, in the case of the Suicide Squad trailer, that might not be entirely true. The main draw of live action film adaptations of comic books are the fans of those comic books and not all of those fans are so eager to buy theater tickets to a film that seems more like a horror film than a superhero, or in the case of Suicide Squad , a supervillain film.
On the other hand, as this Suicide Squad trailer begins to stir debate and criticism, it also draws attention to the Suicide Squad film from other audiences, like horror fans eager for something new, different, and, above all, original. For those criteria, Suicide Squad definitely delivers.
Sure, the Suicide Squad trailer definitely delivers for those hoping for a first look at their favorite supervillains. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Will Smith as Deadshot, and Jared Leto as The Joker are all exceptional in their roles, as far as can be seen in the trailer, and will surely draw the attention of Suicide Squad fans, but the atmosphere of the trailer and presumably of the film has apparently been putting some fans off .
Don’t want to criticize Suicide Squad before anyone has even seen it, but that trailer looks like it’s for Hot Topic: The Motion Picture.
— David Landon (@futureprobe1982) July 13, 2015
Tbh the movie Suicide Squad looks unbelievable but they are going to slaughter the character archetypes from the comic books — Ted Bomer (@TedsRemorse) July 13, 2015
That Joker reveal in the Suicide Squad trailer is proof that people at Comic-Con will literally applaud anything. — Maggie Serota (@maggieserota) July 13, 2015
On the positive side, the music and atmosphere experienced in this Suicide Squad trailer has been drawing just as much positive feedback, attracting those that may not have been previously interested in the Suicide Squad film.
suicide squad looks amazing it’s gonna generate so much interest in DC comics possibly blast marvel back a bit — leah (@weIIingtonkiss) July 13, 2015
THE SUICIDE SQUAD TRAILER IS THE BOMB DOT COM OMG IT KILLS ME THAT I HAVE TO WAIT!!! ??? — R/?CHEL (@RachelWazEre) July 13, 2015
For me, diversity, levity and weirdness makes Suicide Squad the perfect antidote to that one-note Bats v Supes trailer.
— Lucy O’Brien (@Luceobrien) July 13, 2015
Initially, there hadn’t been a real intention to release the Suicide Squad trailer, but after a very rough cut of the trailer was released at the San Diego Comic Con, director David Ayer felt it was only fair to release the finished trailer.
“As we used to say in the #Navy stand-by to stand-by,” Ayer tweeted on Monday. “We’re gonna make it right.”
Along with the official release of the Suicide Squad trailer , the Warner Bros. president of worldwide marketing and international distribution, Sue Kroll, released a statement explaining the decision to publicly release the Suicide Squad trailer.
“Warner Bros. Pictures and our anti-piracy team have worked tirelessly over the last 48 hours to contain the Suicide Squad footage that was pirated from Hall H on Saturday. We have been unable to achieve that goal. Today we will release the same footage that has been illegally circulating on the web, in the form it was created and high quality with which it was intended to be enjoyed. We regret this decision as it was our intention to keep the footage as a unique experience for the Comic-Con crowd, but we cannot continue to allow the film to be represented by the poor quality of the pirated footage stolen from our presentation.”
Suicide Squad is scheduled for an August 5, 2016 theatrical release.
[Featured image: Margot Robbie courtesy of DC Entertainment/ Suicide Squad ]
