Suicide Squad 2: James Gunn reveals why he chose 'Starro' as the villain

James Gunn's DC sequel, The Suicide Squad, is all set to release on August 5, 2021. While speaking to EW, Gunn recently talked about how the villain from the upcoming sequel scared him when he was younger. The film, which was released in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2021, has so far garnered raving reviews from critics and audiences alike, with many praising the director's "vision." 

James Gunn on The Suicide Squad's scary villain

The Suicide Squad, which is all set to feature our favourite villains from the comics, will also star an ultimate supervillain. According to several reports, the film's big bad supervillain will be none other than DC Comics' Starro. Director James Gunn recently talked about how Starro incited much fear in him as a child. 

In a conversation with the aforementioned outlet, James Gunn talked about how Starro really scared him as a kid. The director explained:

I know he's a big pink-and-cerulean-blue starfish, but I thought he was terrifying. There's something about the way Starro attached to people's faces that was just so scary to me. And this was before Alien, you know. He was so scary to me, and creepy, and also just so big and colorful and completely Jeff Koons-comic-booky that I thought it was a fun villain to deal with.

Who is Starro from The Suicide Squad?  

Going by DC comics lore, Starro, who is also known as Starro the Conqueror, is a huge alien resembling a starfish. According to EW, the supervillain made his debut in an issue of the Brave and the Bold comic, in 1960. The monster even fought the Justice League of America and, as per the latest news, terrified a young James Gunn. 

As per DC Comics, Starro is not actually a starfish, it's just a super-intelligent alien life form that looks like a starfish. The giant alien, however, can shoot smaller starfish-like creatures out of its body that attach themselves to humans in order to take control of their minds. Starro can mind-control thousands, if not millions, of people at once. 

The villains of The Suicide Squad

The cast of The Suicide Squad sees Margot Robbie returning as Dr Harleen Quinzel aka the infamous Harley Quinn. Joel Kinnaman also reprises his role of Rick Flag along with Viola Davis who returns as Amanda Waller. Jai Courtney will also return to play the role of Digger Harkness aka Captain Boomerang. 

The new Suicide Squad will also see Idris Elba as Robert DuBois aka Bloodsport, a mercenary who shot Superman with a Kryptonite bullet. John Cena, on the other hand, will play the role of The Peacemaker, a ruthless killer who believes in achieving peace at any cost. Nathan Fillion will appear as TDK aka The Detachable Kid while David Dastmalchian will appear as Polka-Dot Man. 

Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi will play the role of an extremely intelligent supervillain, The Thinker. The Suicide Squad will also star Taika Waititi, who directed the fan-favourite Thor: Ragnarok, as the first Ratcatcher, Cazo's father and the character Starro. Several other villains will make an appearance in the upcoming superhero film which you can watch in theatres on August 5 and on HBO Max from August 6. 

IMAGE - THE SUICIDE SQUAD INSTA