Warner Bros. released the official trailer for the upcoming comic book adaptation of Suicide Squad on Tuesday Jan. 19.
The trailer has a different tone from the teaser trailer that was shown last summer at Comic Con. The teaser presented a darker, grittier atmosphere and was set to a somber cover of the Bee-Gee’s song “I Started a Joke”, similar to the Avengers: Age of Ultron’s trailer’s use of of a haunting cover of “I Got No Strings” from Disney’s Pinocchio.
Suicide Squad’s official trailer presents a more comedic, adventurous tone than the teaser, helped along by an equally bold song choice. This time it is the classic Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody”. The trailer also expands on several characters, such as Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Will Smith’s Deadshot, and Jai Courtney’s Boomerang, and offers more footage of Jared Leto’s Joker, who only had a small cameo in the teaser.
Suicide Squad is intended to be the third film in DC’s Extended Universe, following 2013’s Man of Steel and this year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The plot centers on a group of super villains who are called on to go on dangerous government missions in exchange for reduced prison sentences. In the DC comics universe, the title serves as an in-universe justification for why so many of DC’s villains never seem to stay in prison, despite how many times the heroes put them there.
DC appears to be following Guardians of the Galaxy’s lead by focusing a movie on a lesser known brand and more second tier characters. Meanwhile, the more well-known properties are building towards the big team up Justice League movie that is set for 2017. However, unlike Guardians of the Galaxy, there appears to be more crossover within the universe already, as Ben Affleck’s Batman is scheduled to appear in the film.
Audiences will have to wait until the film’s release on Aug. 5, 2016 to pass judgement on the self-proclaimed “Worst Heroes Ever,” but so far reactions to both trailers have been positive, generating strong buzz for the film.