It certainly wasn't the greatest film to grace film screens this summer, but if Suicide Squad can be praised for anything, it would be its near pitch-perfect casting: Will Smith as Deadshot; Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn; and yes, even Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang. All of them brought their A-game and elevated the film as best they could, but we can't forget about Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, the no-nonsense, cold as ice leader of the Suicide Squad. Though the film went through its share of turbulence in reshoots and recuts, Davis still had a fun time playing the toughest women in DC comics.
What was fun to me about Amanda Waller --- who is heavy, pearls, afro --- she has no superhuman strength, but absolutely just puts fear into the hearts of all these villains. That appeals to me greatly. There's something about her for me that was familiar. I was working out the bad girl, but from a space that, for me, is based somewhat in reality. I liked playing with that power. It's something so often not given to women, that kind of unapologetic badassery.
Viola Davis stopped by the Variety podcast to chat about her potentially Oscar worthy role in Fences, and her appearance in the DC supervillain blockbuster Suicide Squad. On the subject of Suicide Squad, Davis expressed that what appealed to her about the role is that Waller has no powers, yet can still control these criminals who, if given the chance, would not hesitate to wipe her off the face of the earth. Waller isn't afraid to play dirty to get what she wants, and nothing is dirtier than keeping a witch heart in a briefcase.
It's a good thing that Viola Davis and her Suicide Squad costars enjoyed her time on set, because the main strength of that film is the characters. I'm not foaming at the mouth for Suicide Squad 2 in any way, but I want to see some of these characters again- and in a cinematic universe, there's certainly ample room for that. Who knows when we'll see Davis' Amanda Waller again, but I think fans can agree that we want to see her butt heads with more than just the criminals of the DCEU (i.e. bring on the Batman).
It's unknown when Amanda Waller will return ,but the next film in the DCEU is Justice League on November 17, 2017. Knowing Waller, she's gonna have something to say about all those superpowered people teaming up and doing whatever they want.
