James Gunn rules out Captain Boomerang's DCU return but wants Jai Courtney back
James Gunn nails down whether Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang is coming back to the DCU, offering a firm, no-faff answer.
If you were still hoping to see Jai Courtney toss another deadly boomerang in Warner Bros' revamped DCU, consider that case closed. The man in charge, James Gunn, has put it all out there: Captain Boomerang is not coming back to life—at least not with Courtney swinging the stick.
Gunn Sets the Record Straight
This came up in the DC Studios Showcase podcast, when a fan asked Gunn point-blank if Courtney might return as the scrappy Aussie thief we saw blown up in 2021's The Suicide Squad. Gunn's response wasn't mean-spirited, but there was no wriggle room for “multiverse” loopholes or comic book resurrections. Look, we’ve all seen DC kill off characters only for them to return with an eye-patch or an alternate timeline excuse, but Gunn is drawing a line.
Here's how Gunn explained it on the podcast:
Jai can play another character, as we've already established, because I love Jai. He was great. He's a fun guy to work with, a fantastic actor. We also have the rule in the DCU that if you die, you die. I mean, there are going to be clones and all this stuff. I don't care.
What Actually Happened to Boomerang?
Courtney's Captain Boomerang kicked the bucket fairly early in Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Remember that mad beach landing on Corto Maltese? A helicopter crashes, massive explosion, and Boomerang is decidedly dead. Not really room for misinterpretation unless you believe exploding choppers are just light inconvenience in comic book land.
- The Suicide Squad main cast also featured Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Idris Elba (Bloodsport), John Cena (Peacemaker), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), and Sylvester Stallone (King Shark).
For anyone who remembered Courtney making noises about Boomerang’s potential comeback: he did have a chat with Gunn previously where, according to an interview last year, Gunn apparently told him not to sweat the usual comic book “rules”—characters could always return, dead or not. Hope springs eternal if you’re an actor in a superhero franchise, but, as of now, plans have changed.
What’s left? Courtney might land a new DCU role if Gunn’s keen—the door’s just shut for Boomerang specifically, exploding helicopter and all.