Starro The Suicide Squad Villain Is Perfect For The Team, Says James Gunn

Several months ago, we reported that footage revealed the Suicide Squad villain as Starro. It was an easy “called it” moment, given that there was a dude in the background with a purple star on his face. However, even just the glimpses we got of Starro in the latest Suicide Squad are far more wonderful than we could have ever expected. The massive pink and blue (actually, it’s cerulean) starfish from space is so massive, its foot takes up an entire frame. But what led James Gunn to pick such a unique villain in the first place?

Warner Bros Gave James Gunn Complete Control

That’s just the foot! (Image: The Suicide Squad, Warner Bros Picture)

In a recent interview with Den of Geek, Gunn talked about his process for The Suicide Squad. The most interesting revelation was that before offering him The Suicide Squad, they pitched Superman. But Gunn wasn’t into that. However, instead of shrugging and parting ways, Warner Bros told him, “make whatever you want.” That is a dangerous thing to say to any creative person, let alone someone with a mind like James Gunn.

It’s not surprising that Gunn gravitated to the Suicide Squad. He loves misfits – just look at The Guardians of the Galaxy. Gunn can take a group of losers, as Star-Lord calls the team, and turn them into heroes we love. But don’t expect to love too many of them. After all, the poster says, “Don’t get too attached.” But if that wasn’t enough, Warner Bros also gave him “carte blanche…to kill any character he wants.” We’ve all seen the impressive cast list for The Suicide Squad. There’s a lot of D-list characters in this.

So, yeah, when the Suicide goes up against the villain Starro, most of them will probably die. The only two characters we know are safe, so far, are John Cena’s Peacemaker and Margo Robbie’s Harley Quinn. Peacemaker is getting his own HBO Max series spinning out of The Suicide Squad…or so we’re led to believe. It could be a prequel. And Harley Quinn is just too profitable to kill.

Choosing Starro as the Villain for The Suicide Squad Was an Easy One

Ah! It’s…a starfish thing! (DC Comics)

James Gunn loves all things weird. And when it comes to DC villains, you can’t get weirder than Starro. Again, they’re giant starfish who can control people’s minds. When Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky created the character, they probably took some psychedelics. Because, for a kids’ comic, Starro is horrifying.

As Gunn said:

“Starro is hilarious because he’s ridiculous. He’s a giant, cerulean blue starfish, but he’s also f*cking terrifying. When I was a kid, I thought that was the scariest thing of all time… and I think that exemplifies what this movie is: it is ridiculous, and it’s also terrifying, and serious. So he works really well as the villain of the movie—as one of the villains, actually.”

Wait…one of the villains? Okay, so now we get to speculate all over again!

Regardless, it’s a bit amazing that Waller would put together a massive team of, as Gunn calls them, D-listers to fight the big alien. But this actually falls in place with the previous Suicide Squad movie. The Suicide Team Waller chose to take down Enchantress, a villain with almost equal power to Starro, is questionable at best. Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn, Katana, Rick Flagg, and Killer Croc? Oh, and that rope dude who died early on? The Mayan goddess outmatched all of them. The only character who stood a chance was Diablo. Yet that’s kind of what makes the Suicide Squad such a special team. They go on missions they shouldn’t be able to come back from, but they keep coming back.

The Suicide Squad debuts in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6, 2021.

So, whichever Suicide Squad members Starro leaves standing, we’ll definitely see again, probably fighting Granny Goodness or some other terrifying yet ridiculous villain.

(Featured Image: DC Comics)

Roman Colombo finished his MFA in 2010 and now teaches writing and graphic novel literature at various Philadelphia colleges. His first novel, Trading Saints for Sinners, was published in 2014. He's currently working on his next novel and hoping to find an agent soon.