You didn’t think James Gunn was going to jump aboard the train for The Suicide Squad and not bring Michael Rooker with him, did you?
According to The Wrap, Rooker is currently in negotiations to appear in the sequel. The actor is known for playing Merle in The Walking Dead, Yondu in Guardians Of The Galaxy, Henry in Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer and more.
The Suicide Squad will be just one of many times Rooker and Gunn have teamed up for a film, after the likes of both Guardians Of The Galaxy instalments, Super, The Belco Experiment, and upcoming superhero horror Brightburn.
In The Suicide Squad, Rooker is set to play King Shark, a character that has been an official part of Task Force X in the comics in recent years, particularly during the New 52 era.
King Shark, also known as Nanaue, is a supervillain and humanoid shark that made his first DC appearance (as a brief cameo) in Superboy vol. 3 #0 in October 1994. He was created by Karl Kesel. King Shark’s augmented flesh provides him with protection against sea pressure and attacks, and he uses his shark physiology as weapons. He can also swim at great speeds, is resistant to cold, has enhanced strength and endurance and can regenerate lost bodily tissue.
The Suicide Squad won’t be the first live-action screen project to feature King Shark: the character also appears in the Arrowverse TV series The Flash, and is played by Dan Payne in human form and voiced by David Hayter in CGI shark form. He also appears in a handful of animated films and video games.
The Suicide Squad is being written and directed by James Gunn, and produced by Michael De Luca, Peter Safran, Deborah Snyder and Zack Snyder, with Lars P Winther serving as a co-producer.
Rooker joins a cast made up of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, David Dastmalchian as the Polka-Dot Man, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller and Idris Elba in an undisclosed role.
The Suicide Squad is in cinemas from 6 August 2021. Get all the latest superhero news with every issue of SciFiNow.