Joel Kinnaman Discusses “Suicide Squad” Sequel & Joaquin Phoenix’s “Joker”

We’re inching closer and closer to the release of James Gunn’s upcoming Suicide Squad sequel, but we still know very little about the movie. Actor Joel Kinnaman, who will reprise his role as Rick Flag, recently unveiled some tidbits of information about the film: apparently, it feels like much more like a comedy.

“He’s an incredible guy,” he said of Gunn in a new conversation with Variety. “He’s written a fantastic script. It’s so funny… I feel like I’m shooting my first comedy. There are a lot of really funny people there. It’s like a learning experience. I’m around a lot of incredibly funny people.”

While Kinnaman didn’t comment on Jared Leto’s apparent absence from the sequel, he did provide his thoughts on Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in Joker. “Joaquin [Phoenix] just crushed it. Wow. He is incredible. He’s such an actor,” Kinnaman said. “It’s surprising to see that kind of a performance in something that has a DC wrapper on it, because that’s a real art film. And I have a sister who’s schizophrenic, and I’ve drawn on some of her behavioral things in things that I’ve done earlier, and, yeah, I was really struck by how accurate his [performance was].” 

You can expect the Suicide Squad sequel to release sometime in 2021.