While James Gunn has been sharing lots of details about his all-star line-up for The Suicide Squad, which is not entirely a reboot, but not really a sequel to David Ayer’s first film about the villainous team, not much has been revealed about the plot. That’s all changed, thanks to Warner Bros. unveiling the official synopsis for Gunn’s highly-anticipated jaunt through the DC Comics universe, and it looks like the writer/director will be mining a very interesting location with ties to Batman.
Here’s the full synopsis via Warner Bros:
Welcome to hell–a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on theremote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.
If the name Corto Maltese sounds familiar, it’s where Kim Basinger’s Vicki Vale previously worked as a photojournalist before moving to Gotham City in Tim Burton’s Batman starring Michael Keaton. Considering Keaton is returning to his iconic role as the Dark Knight in The Flash solo movie, dropping Corto Maltese into The Suicide Squad is an intriguing choice that could just be a coincidence, or a sign that the new batch of DCEU films aren’t so disconnected after all.
As for its comic book history, the fictional island off of the coast of South America made its first appearance in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns where Superman was ordered by the U.S. government to stop a nuclear attack before being sent to put down Batman’s raging war on crime in Gotham City. The Dark Knight Returns storyline was loosely adapted for Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman, which makes Corto Maltese popping up in The Suicide Squad all the more interesting.
(Via CBR)