Why One DC Character Didn’t Make The Cut For Suicide Squad

Next month, DC is breaking away from its tradition of telling hero-focused stories by sending super villains to save the world in Suicide Squad. Most of the movie’s villains are unfamiliar to the general public, but having looked at past Suicide Squad lineups in the comics, the creative team put together a roster fitting for the team’s big screen debut. Of course, this also meant that some characters who were considered didn’t make the cut, and one of those bad guys was King Shark.

One of the many Twitter questions Ayer received today as part of the latest Suicide Squad push was what other characters he had considered for the movie. He answered:

One of the characters I was thinking about for the Squad lineup was actually King Shark, but we realized it would take a lot of CG work. I wasn’t quite comfortable having a full CG character. We actually ended up going with Killer Croc, who turned out to be the right guy for the job.

Back when the full cast of Suicide Squad characters was still a mystery, it was rumored that Resident Evil actor Raymond Olubowale would appear as King Shark. Another report followed that Aquaman would be seen locked up in the same prison as a certain mutated shark following a fight between the two. Obviously we now know we shouldn’t expect to see either character in Suicide Squad, though despite Aquaman’s absence, the movie won’t be without any superheroes.

Suicide Squad isn’t without any CGI, as evidenced by what we’ve seen of Enchantress and The Adversary’s forces, but none of the movie’s main characters are all-digital. In order to feature a King Shark who looked anything remotely like the one above, CGI would have been the only option to properly create him. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s Killer Croc, on the other hand, was a makeup creation, taking inspiration from the villain’s earlier appearances rather than make him look like an anthropomorphized crocodile like he does nowadays on the printed page. He’s still ugly looking, but at least he wasn’t nearly as complicated to include as King Shark would have been.

Despite not making the cut for Suicide Squad, King Shark has fortunately still been realized in live action media. The villain surprisingly cameoed in The Flash TV series last October at the end of “The Fury of Firestorm” as one of the Earth-2 metahumans sent to kill the Scarlet Speedster. He later returned in “King Shark” as the main antagonist that week, escaping ARGUS custody and trying to complete his mission. Besides Gorilla Grodd, King Shark remains the show’s most impressive CGI creation, and there’s still a chance he’ll return one of these days. King Shark’s other media appearances include Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and Batman: Assault on Arkham.

Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5.