Idris Elba Made 1 ‘The Suicide Squad’ Fashion Choice Himself
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad was an R-rated smash hit and a huge treat for DC fans still sour over the first attempt at making a film based around the villainous team. While certain elements carried over from that earlier movie, the new one mostly wipes the slate clean with a fun and frantic tone and a ton of new characters. One of them – Idris Elba’s Bloodsport – quickly became a fan favorite. While the costume given to him definitely helped with that, one of the character’s fashion choices was apparently made by the actor himself.
Elba’s Bloodsport is a new character for the films
In the movie, Elba plays the character of Robert DuBois, also known as Bloodsport. A professional assassin with a dark past, he’s assigned as the leader of Task Force X on their mission to Corto Maltese. While initially reluctant and with little patience for his teammates and their problems, he grows to care for the criminals under his command and, with them by his side, ends up saving the world from a giant alien starfish.
Bloodsport’s inclusion in the film is somewhat unexpected. In the comics, he’s a fairly minor Superman villain who’s only ever appeared in a handful of issues. Even during filming, Gunn had written the character’s name as Vigilante as a reference to another minor villain, all as a way to confuse anyone who might be leaking the script. However, beyond a nod to this origin (he gets sent to jail for shooting Superman with a Kryptonite bullet), the character was massively reworked for the movie.
For starters, this Bloodsport has an estranged daughter who indirectly motivates him into becoming a better person. His appearance and powers are also reworked, changing them from technological implants that allow him to teleport guns into his hands to biometric-activated smart weaponry that changes shape as he uses it. Overall, he’s also just a much more fun character and a worthy replacement for the previous film’s Deadshot, who Elba was originally rumored to play.
The cast (Idris Elba included) picked their outfits for one key scene
Near the middle of the movie, the Squad go undercover to flush out Peter Capaldi’s The Thinker, trading in their colorful supervillain gear for more down-to-earth attire. While everyone ends up looking good (special mention goes to Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) with his disco-inspired flair), a viewer can’t help but notice Bloodsport’s snazzy beret.
Apparently, this decision was all on Elba, proving definitively that he has great taste. Gunn responded to a fan on Twitter who brought this up, saying that the cast was allowed to pick what they wanted to wear for this particular scene. Beyond “some guidance,” they seemed to be allowed to build their wardrobes from clothes picked out of a box – just like their characters. While it’s only a small detail in the grand scheme of things, it definitely gave each member of the Squad some extra characterization.
Future Bloodsport appearances are unclear, but there’s reason to hope for more
According to Gunn on Twitter, The Suicide Squad might end up being Bloodsport’s only appearance. While there is a spinoff series about John Cena’s Peacemaker in development for HBO Max, Gunn says there’s currently no new projects with Elba’s character in the works right now. However, he does say there’s potential for the character to reappear in the “near future” in his tweet. What that might be hinting at is anyone’s guess, though it would definitely be fun to see him spar (verbally or physically) with Peacemaker yet again in the aforementioned spinoff show.
