Suicide Squad Star Seals Fate of One of DCU’s First Heroes

Aaron Fonseca
4 minutes ago
3 min read

Don't count on one of the early DCU heroes showing up again in the future as James Gunn continues to form his vision for Warner Bros. and DC Studios. When the poorly-received Suicide Squad hit theaters in 2016, leaving David Ayer to walk away entirely, it took Gunn's reboot,The Suicide Squad in 2021, to reinvigorate a franchise with tons of potential.

After all, it was headlined by high-profile talent like Margot Robbie, Sir Idris Elba and John Cena, and also Joel Kinnaman; and it's Kinnaman's Rick Flag Jr. that might've seen his last hoorah. According to Kinnaman, in an interview with ScreenRant, when asked if DC fans have seen the end of his character, he didn't mince words.

"Yeah, I would say so," he said.

Rick Flag Jr. Will Not Return to the DCU Under James Gunn

"Yeah, I would say so," he said.

Rick Flag Jr. Will Not Return to the DCU Under James Gunn

"Yeah, I would say so," he said.

Rick Flag Jr. Will Not Return to the DCU Under James Gunn

Gunn himself hinted at this being likely when he put the kibosh on thoughts of a Season 3 for HBO Max's Peacemaker, making it known Season 2 — which was handled by Gunn, unlike the pre-Gunn era first season — furthered the storyline enough to introduce the multiverse to the DCU, and that Peacemaker, as a series, was done.

In the series, it's Rick Flag Sr., portrayed by Frank Grillo, serving as the main antagonist looking to locate an alternate dimension, with the aid of Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor, to use as a prison for metahumans, which is where he successfully sent Cena's Peacemaker to conclude Season 2 and, in the process, likely inserted himself into the upcoming events of Superman 2.

Kinnaman did reprise his role as Rick Flag Jr. in Peacemaker, in Season 2, via flashbacks and an alternate universe that delved deeper into his relationship with Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland).

Rick Flag Sr. Takes Center In DCU Going Forward

Where there's one alternate universe, there are many, and in the infinite possibilities, there has to be another Rick Flag Jr. out there somewhere for Kinnaman to reprise, right? Sure, but that doesn't mean Gunn is interested in seeing the character return, especially as Grillo becomes a central figure as the younger Rick Flag Sr. going forward.

But, as it always goes in the superhero genre, never say never — Kinnaman making it known he wouldn't spill the beans even if he knew.

"I'm very bad at keeping secrets," he said. "Always when I was shooting The Suicide Squad stuff, I felt like the only ones who care about secrets were people that are involved with the superhero stuff. So they were always on me with any interviews because I would spoil stuff in them. But since I don't really have social media anymore, it's a lot easier to not make those mistakes."

He went on to admit he wouldn't be surprised if Gunn changed his mind: "He's a mad genius, so it's hard to know what goes on in that crazy brain of his."

Suicide Squad and Peacemaker are currently streaming on HBO Max.