That James Gunn seems to have a real knack for mining gold from the most obscure comic book characters. In between being fired and rehired by Disney for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Gunn also snagged a gig for writing and directing the sequel/reboot/whatever for Suicide Squad. While some cast members not named Will Smith from the David Ayer film will be returning, some new faces will show up, including character actor David Dastmalchian as (snickers) Polka-Dot Man.
Born as Abner Krill, (stifles laughter) Polka-Dot Man is responsible for, uh, “spot-themed crimes,” while wearing a costume with some gimmicks that include transforming spots that can turn into buzzsaws. I am finding all of this out from a THR report, and even as I write it down, I still find it unbelievable. But hey, the guy who made the talking raccoon and the giant tree the hearts of the Guardians films can probably do something with this! Gunn is on record saying that Doop is his favorite Marvel Comics character, so obviously this Troma alumnus is attracted to weird.
So too is Dastmalchian, who is known for playing unusual characters in big Hollywood films. Dastmalchian first grabbed audiences attention in The Dark Knight, playing an unhinged crony of Heath Ledger’s Joker who almost becomes Two-Face’s first victim. He had a significant turn as a suspect (another unhinged character) in the great Denis Villeneuve film Prisoners, and has become a favorite of the director ever since. Yes, he’s one of like, fifty stars showing up in Dune.
Having no idea what kind of personality Polka-Dot Man has, except that whoever dresses up like that must be at least a bit of an oddball, I have full confidence that David Dastmalchian will put in a fun performance from James Gunn’s direction. He’s quite funny in Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp as one of the three comedic sidekicks to Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, but after all of these minor superhero movie roles, t’would be nice to see him in a main super-powered role.
The Suicide Squad, which I will assume will be followed by another sequel with an absurd title (my vote goes to “Suicide Squads”), won’t release until August 5, 2021.
James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ Casts ‘Ant-Man’ Actor David Dastmalchian [THR]
