When the majority of Warner Bros’ Suicide Squad cast was announced last month, comic book fans wondered who would play a part just as important as the rogues gallery-turned-government black-ops force: Amanda Waller, who brings together the Joker, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Rick Flag, Boomerang, and Enchantress. Immediately there were rumors that Oprah Winfrey and Viola Davis were in the running; now, recent comments from Davis all but confirm her involvement in the movie.
At a recent press conference for her new movie Blackhat, Nerd Report caught up with Davis to ask her about Suicide Squad. While she didn’t explicitly confirm that she had the part, she talked at length about her prep to play Amanda Waller:
I have not started reading [the comic book source material] yet. I’ve read up about her, but I’m working out my schedule for Suicide Squad.
That schedule includes How to Get Away With Murder, Davis’ primetime crime drama/soap opera on ABC. Leading the series as tough-as-nails defense attorney Annalise Keating is likely what got Davis the visibility to be considered for Waller. Both characters are morally ambiguous, and from Davis’ assessment of Waller, it sounds like she’s finding other similarities:
I’m fascinated by her. I’m fascinated by her in this world of superhero-ness because she is not a woman that you would expect. I think that she is a massive contradiction. She’s this big, powerful black woman, hard, ready to pick up a gun and shoot anyone at will. I’m fascinated in exploring her psychology, just put it that way. And I’m excited to pick up a gun.
No surprise, considering she’s used to a statuette as a murder weapon.
Suicide Squad comes out August 5, 2016.
Photo: ABC/Mitchell Haaseth
