The film was written and directed by David Ayer and stars Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, and Cara Delevingne.

In the film, a secret government agency led by Amanda Waller recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions and save the world from a powerful threat in exchange for reduced sentences.

In the aftermath of Superman's death,[b] intelligence officer Amanda Waller convinces the U.S. government to greenlight Task Force X, a response team of criminals and supervillains.

The team will be used to combat metahuman threats, under Waller's control via nanite bombs implanted in each criminal's neck, which can be remotely detonated if they try to rebel or escape.

However, Enchantress betrays Waller, conquering Midway City, transforming humans into monsters, and summoning her brother Incubus to destroy mankind.

The roster consists of hitman Deadshot, who wants to reunite with his daughter Zoe; Harley Quinn, a volatile and crazed former psychiatrist-turned-girlfriend of Gotham crime lord Joker; Australian boomerang-wielding thief Captain Boomerang; pyrokinetic ex-gangster El Diablo; mutant cannibal Killer Croc; and rope-climber mercenary Slipknot.

Scaling a skyscraper and fighting their way through waves of heavily mutated soldiers under Enchantress' control, the team discover the mission target was Waller herself.

The squad attack Enchantress, while Killer Croc and Flag's platoon of Navy SEALs plant a bomb beneath the subway to kill Incubus.

In a mid-credits scene, Waller meets with Bruce Wayne, who agrees to protect her from the legal consequences of the events in Midway City in exchange for government files on the growing metahuman community.

[52] The main cast was announced by Warner Brothers in December 2014 with Smith, Hardy, Leto, Robbie, Jai Courtney, and Cara Delevingne along with their respective roles as Deadshot, Rick Flag, Joker, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, and Enchantress.

Editor John Gilroy left the project in early 2016, leading to Charles Roven recommending Lee Smith to Ayer "to take a slightly different approach, but not totally change the tone of the movie with his work".

[79][49][80] It was also confirmed that Zack Snyder filmed a scene with the Flash while shooting Justice League in London, while Ayer was in post-production on Suicide Squad.

[81] These reshoots included an almost entirely different third act from the original, and new versions of scenes featuring Harley Quinn and the Joker to make their relationship less abusive and more appealing to teenage audiences.

Many artists were featured on the soundtrack, including Kehlani, Logic, Skylar Grey, Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla Sign, X Ambassadors, Lil Wayne, and Imagine Dragons.

[89] "Gangsta" by Kehlani; "Standing in the Rain" by Action Bronson, Mark Ronson, and Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys; "Medieval Warfare" by Grimes; and a cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" performed by Panic!

[7][101][102] Suicide Squad was highly anticipated by audiences worldwide, despite negative early reviews and lower-than-expected box office performance of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in March.

[122] However, the drop is one of the biggest declines for a studio superhero film, and for Warner Bros., which The Hollywood Reporter called it "deja vu all over again" after Batman v Superman tumbled 69% in its second weekend earlier in the year.

The site also highlighted possible reasons for the significantly steep drop: dismal reviews, general apathy among moviegoers, altering movie-going habits and competition.

[130] It was released in 57 countries (70% of the marketplace) in conjuncture with its North American debut, including France, South Korea, Australia, Russia and the CIS, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Spain and Mexico beginning from Wednesday, August 3.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Suicide Squad boasts a talented cast and a little more humor than previous DCEU efforts, but they aren't enough to save the disappointing end result from a muddled plot, thinly written characters, and choppy directing.

[80] Rolling Stone's Peter Travers wrote, "DC Comics tries something different with Suicide Squad, an all-star collection of crime fighting villains—and the result is anything but super.

[148] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B− saying, "Suicide Squad kicks off with fizzy, punk-rock ferocity before turning flat and spiraling into familiar formulas," and called Jared Leto's "scene-stealing" Joker "wasted" and "stranded in the periphery".

However, it is gleefully nihilistic, and it takes a different approach to what has become a fairly familiar story form at this point, right at the moment when it feels like superhero movies either have to evolve or die.

"[151] Brian Truitt from USA Today wrote, "Compared to its ilk, Suicide Squad is an excellently quirky, proudly raised middle finger to the staid superhero-movie establishment.

[156] In June 2021, Joel Kinnaman said that he was disappointed with Suicide Squad: "I thought the first 40 minutes of the film were fucking great, and then there were conflicting visions and it just didn't end up being what we all hoped it was.

[160] This followed with Gavin O'Connor hired as co-screenwriter-director, while production was originally slated to begin October 2018, though the script's similarities to Birds of Prey led to principal photography delays.

After the release and financial success of Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. and DC Studios announced six separate films being developed featuring Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn.

Calls strengthened following the announcement of Zack Snyder's Justice League in May 2020 due to the success of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement campaign, garnering support from the director and writer David Ayer.

[184][185] The following are some notable ideas and subplots that were filmed but left out, as well as several reshoots and script alterations that took place during post-production: After the fan's campaign was launched, Ayer later stated in July how his vision was changed due to the success of Deadpool and the negative criticism received by Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, highlighting an early trailer that "nailed the tone and intention of the film [he] made", saying that his "soulful drama was beaten into a 'comedy'".

[211] David Ayer held a private screening for the admin of the official Twitter account for the #ReleaseTheAyerCut movement in October that shed further light on the state of his cut after sharing the shooting script with them in the previous year.