Turns out The Suicide Squad had another ending — James Gunn called it 'too dark'

Right, so here’s one for DC fans who like their villainy with a dash of existential dread. Turns out James Gunn had an alternate finale up his sleeve for The Suicide Squad that was apparently even bleaker than what made it to cinemas—one so dark, even he thought it was a bit much. The full saga came out on DC Studios' own podcast, where Gunn spilled all sorts of behind-the-scenes details about his first run with Task Force X.

Waller originally shot Ratcatcher II. He initially struggled to recall the details but later explained that Ratcatcher had obtained files involving the US government and Corto Maltese secret experiments. "She brought them back with her and was not going to give them up. And Amanda Waller shoots and kills her," the 60-year-old said.

The Original Bleakness

If you thought Polka-Dot Man got the rough end of the stick in the actual film, the early drafts apparently went in a whole other direction. According to Gunn, the ending at one point saw Ratcatcher II getting killed off by Amanda Waller after refusing to hand over some very damning files about US government shenanigans in Corto Maltese. Still not depressing enough? Things escalated to the point where Bloodsport—played by Idris Elba—responded by shooting Waller. 'It was a heavy ending... It was too dark,' says Gunn, summarising the vibe perfectly.

What We Actually Got

For anyone who might need a refresher, the cut that hit cinemas wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows, but it did pull back a bit. Instead of Waller gunning down Ratcatcher II, we got a drawn-out scramble for a hard drive loaded with evidence of the US government's not-so-legal experiments on the alien creature Starro under Corto Maltese. The drama: Rick Flag tries to expose all this, only to be killed by Peacemaker. The hard drive then falls to Ratcatcher II. Peacemaker attempts to finish her off, but Bloodsport manages to intervene and shoot him instead.

• Polka-Dot Man dies during the film’s climactic battle with Starro, not Ratcatcher II.
• Instead of mass executions, we get a heroic moment where Ratcatcher II overwhelms Starro with a tidal wave of rats.
• The squad makes it out alive (except Polka-Dot Man), and Bloodsport blackmails Waller with the files, demanding freedom for the team and some leverage for his daughter.

The Suicide Squad premiered in 2021, with James Gunn directing a major tonal shift from the earlier 2016 film.

Somehow, this counts as the lighter version.