‘Suicide Squad’ vs ‘The Suicide Squad’: Is The 2021 Movie A Sequel?

If you’re ever feeling bad about your artistic endeavors in this life, just remember that Warner Bros. decided to differentiate a movie from its sequel by simply adding the word “The.”

So it’s no wonder that The Suicide Squad—which is releasing in theaters and on HBO Max on Thursday evening—is causing confusion among audiences who distinctly remember watching a movie called Suicide Squad a mere five years ago. Yes, it’s true, Warner Bros. has made yet another film based on the DC Comics team of anti-heroes known as the Suicide Squad, who are convicts and supervillains recruited by the government to perform dangerous missions in exchange for reduced prison sentences. It’s more or less expected that the members won’t survive the mission, hence the name of the team.

While Margot Robbie is returning to her role as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis is back as Amanda Waller, and Jai Courtney is also back as Captain Boomerang, a host of new faces has caused viewers to wonder if The Suicide Squad is a sequel or a reboot. Never fear, because Decider is here to help.

IS THE SUICIDE SQUAD A SEQUEL OR A REBOOT?

Both, kinda. The Suicide Squad is a “standalone sequel,” meaning you don’t need to see the 2016 Suicide Squad to understand 2021’s The Suicide Squad. While some of the characters and actors overlap, The Suicide Squad is a brand new story, and more importantly, a brand new tone. A good portion of the main characters in The Suicide Squad—including Idris Elba as Bloodsport, John Cena as Peacemaker, Sylvester Stallone as the voice of King Shark, and Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2—were not in the first movie.

Originally, Warner Bros. had been planning a traditional sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad. After some stops and starts, the studio eventually hired James Gunn to write and direct a Suicide Squad film, who wanted to relaunch the franchise without contradicting anything from the first movie. As for that confusing title—according to Gunn, who answered a fan question on his Instagram page, the director said he pitched The Suicide Squad as a joke title, and the Warner Bros. producers liked it. Can someone ask the Warner Bros. producers why they love confusing their audiences?

DO YOU NEED TO WATCH SUICIDE SQUAD BEFORE THE SUICIDE SQUAD?

Not at all. You’ll have no trouble following The Suicide Squad if you’ve never seen the 2016 film. Many of the main characters in Suicide Squad, including Jared Leto’s Joker and Will Smith’s Deadshot, do not appear in this new movie.

That said, there are few characters in both movies, and you might appreciate their story arcs slightly more if you’ve seen the first film—most particularly Col. Rick Flag, the heroic, military leader played by Joel Kinnaman. But if you didn’t see the first movie, all you really need to know is that Flag is a core member of the Suicide Squad with a strong moral compass and a good heart.

If you do want to catch up on the first film before you watch the new one, the good news is that it’s streaming free to subscribers on HBO Max. Enjoy the murder!

Watch The Suicide Squad on HBO Max