Well, this sounds all kinds of fun if it does indeed come to pass. Yes, as the headline suggests, Michael Rooker may end up playing King Shark in the DCEU.
We’ve known for several months now that King Shark was going to one of several new additions to Task Force X when James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad rolls around, and now comes word that Rooker is in talks for the role.
Via The Wrap, Rooker is in early negotiations to join the sequel offering as the villainous humanoid shark who is a huge favourite of many a comic book reader. Rooker is good pals with Gunn following roles in the writer/director’s Super, The Belco Experiment, the upcoming Brightburn and as Yondu in the first two Guardians of the Galaxy pictures.
As alluded to, King Shark joins Ratcatcher, Polka-Dot Man and Peacemaker as new additions for The Suicide Squad. And yes, the sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad is called The Suicide Squad. Ant-Man’s David Dastmalchian has already signed on to play Ratcatcher, and now it appears that Michael Rooker could well end up playing King Shark.
For those not familiar with King Shark, Nanaue debuted back in 1994 and was depicted as the son of the Shark God. Once the whole New 52 reboot was rolled out across DC Comics, King Shark was rejigged as a humanoid hammerhead who was more often than not either a member of the Suicide Squad or could be found battling The Flash – something which has also happened at several points in The CW’s The Flash, not to mention a ridiculously fun battle between King Shark and Gorilla Grodd in that Scarlet Speedster show.
In The Suicide Squad, the majority of the first movie’s core cast are expected to be returning. That said, Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Will Smith’s Deadshot will not be present in the follow-up. One other confirmed new addition, however, is Idris Elba in a to-be-revealed role, whilst multiple-time WWE Champion John Cena is rumoured to be eyed for the picture.
Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad is set for an August 2021 release.