Portuguese telenovela star Daniela Melchior has signed on to portray the sewer-dwelling DC villain Ratcatcher in James Gunn‘s ‘The Suicide Squad’. This casting follows that of David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, as both of these characters will be making their screen debut in this picture, alongside an unannounced villain played by Idris Elba and The Peacemaker played by John Cena. Reportedly, Gunn’s screenplay calls for the introduction of one more bad guy, the monstrous King Shark.
Reportedly, the choice came down to Melchior and Isabela Moner (‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold’), with Melchior landing the job. She has spent the last two years as part of the ensemble cast of telenovela ‘Valor da Vida’. Last year, she made her film debut in ‘The Black Book’, and followed that up with ‘Parque Mayer’.
She will portray a character that, in the comics, is a man. Otis Flannegan was an exterminator who turned to a life of crime with the power to communicate telepathically with rats. He also has a propensity for poisonous gases. It was earlier reported that Deadshot would have a fatherly mentor role with the film’s Ratcatcher, but Deadshot has been written out, due to Will Smith being unable to return. Elba was cast to replace him, before Gunn decided to give him a unique role. But the interpersonal relationship may remain the same with this new character that Elba is playing.
Even though it has been stressed that ‘The Suicide Squad’ is a “total reboot” and not a direct sequel to the underwhelming 2016 film simply called ‘Suicide Squad’, a large chunk of the cast is returning. Margot Robbie, who just wrapped filming another DC movie, ‘Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)’, will be back in the clown makeup once again, as the most popular character from the first flick. Jai Courtney will be back as Captain Boomerang, with Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller.
‘The Suicide Squad’ is expected to begin filming this fall, however at this point, it isn’t scheduled to open until August 6, 2021.
Source: Collider
