James Gunn Shares Suicide Squad BTS Image Of Early Thinker Prosthetics
Director James Gunn has shared an early version of the prosthetics used to transform Peter Capaldi into The Thinker for The Suicide Squad. Previously, Gunn revealed an image of Thinker, played by the Scottish former Doctor Who star Capaldi, in May of this year. He took to Instagram to tease fans with an image of Bloodsport (Idris Elba) standing with Thinker in a dingy bar, along with Polka-Dot Man and Ratcatcher 2.
The Thinker is a new character in Gunn's version of The Suicide Squad, having joined the franchise in 2018 after the critical failure of David Ayer's original 2016 film, Suicide Squad. However, Gunn has kept many of the original characters from Ayer's film, including Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag, and Jai Courtney's Captain Boomerang. Thinker, a super-intelligent and telepathic villain, is just one of several new additions that Gunn's film makes to Task Force X, the group of miscreants gathered by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, also returning in her original Suicide Squad role) to save the day. New posters released earlier this year to herald Thinker's arrival in the franchise hinted at a possible connection between the new villain and the alien Starro, another Gunn character addition.
The Thinker image shared by Gunn on Instagram shows the early prosthetics by the film's makeup and special effects team. They're used to depict the technology used by Thinker to enhance his telepathic abilities, a core part of the character's power. While Gunn says the final version of Thinker took some re-working to get to, it's likely these were more practical changes, since Thinker's aesthetic in the finished film isn't far off the version shown in this post. Check it out below:
The post isn't just for fun, of course. In his caption, Gunn teases plenty more behind-the-scenes footage from The Suicide Squad's production that audiences can check out. These snippets can be seen on HBO Max, where the film is currently available to stream (with an HBO Max subscription) alongside its worldwide theatrical release. Of course, with a film this hotly anticipated, it's unlikely Gunn's followers will need too much encouragement.
Gunn's image provides fascinating insight into how characters evolve during the production process. It would be interesting to hear more about the changes made to Thinker's look. It's clear the final version is a success, with the impressive prosthetics and Capaldi's performance combining beautifully to bring The Suicide Squad character to life.
Source: James Gunn/Instagram