The Suicide Squad Has Added A Doctor Who Star

Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who

Although the 11th installment of the DC Extended Universe, The Suicide Squad, is bringing back several faces who were present for 2016’s Suicide Squad, for the most part this sequel/reboot/relaunch/whatever the hell it is will feature a lot of new characters. Word’s come in that the latest addition to this lineup is a man who just a few years ago was the face of Doctor Who.

Peter Capaldi, who played the Twelfth Doctor on Doctor Who, has reportedly signed on to The Suicide Squad, though no details were provided on his role. Deadline also mentioned that Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson is in talks to cameo in the James Gunn-written and directed flick, and should something be arranged, it’s possible he’ll shoot this quick appearance between breaks on the long-running NBC sketch show.

But it was his time as the Twelfth Doctor that catapulted him to worldwide fame, making his first appearance in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor,” officially debuting in the Christmas special “The Time of the Doctor and taking over as the show’s lead in the Season 8 premiere “Deep Breath.” Peter Capaldi left the show in the 2017 Christmas special “Twice Upon a Time,” paving the way for Jodie Whittaker to take over as the Thirteenth Doctor.

Obviously the sky’s the limit on who Peter Capaldi will be playing in The Suicide Squad. The choices range from someone who his history with the Squad in the comics to someone from elsewhere in the DC universe who James Gunn has managed to fit seamlessly into his story. Regardless, this will be a good opportunity to spotlight Capaldi for folks who didn’t catch his crazy adventures across time and space or don’t recall him from a different project.

Peter Capaldi is just the latest actor to join The Suicide Squad’s ranks. The lineup of fresh faces also includes Idris Elba, who was originally going to take over as Deadshot from Will Smith, but will now play a new character instead; David Dastmalchian as The Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher; Storm Reid as the daughter of Idris Elba’s character; and Steve Agee as King Shark, as well as Flula Borg, Nathan Fillion and Taika Waititi. John Cena and Benicio del Toro have also been reportedly looked at to play Peacemaker and the main villain, respectively, but it’s unclear if they’ve actually come aboard yet.

As for familiar faces, Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang, Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller and Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag will all be back. The Suicide Squad will mark Harley’s third DCEU appearance, as she’s returning in early 2020 for Birds of Prey. Oh, and fair warning, don’t go into The Suicide Squad thinking Batman will make an appearance like last time. He won’t.

The Suicide Squad is scheduled to begin filming on September 23, and will arrive in theaters on August 6, 2021. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage, and don’t forget to look through our DC movies guide to learn what else this franchise has in the works.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.