The Suicide Squad is releasing in 2021, and a new Empire cover story has shown off the movie's full Squad cast all together. This has started a new wave of discussion about the upcoming sequel/reboot, and director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) has jumped into the fray to talk about his approach--and the fact that a lot of the characters on this cover won't make it through the movie.

　　Responding to a tweet asserting that Harley Quinn has "franchise armor" in the film (meaning that DC would not let Gunn kill her because they have long-term plans for the character), Gunn said that's not the case. "They gave me carte blanche to do what I wanted," he said, assuring fans that he can kill anyone he wants to.

　　No character was protected by DC. They gave me carte blanche to do what I wanted. That was one of the things we agreed to before I came to work for them. I wasn't looking for shock value but I wanted the audience to know anything could happen. #StoryReignsSupreme #TheSuicideSquad https://t.co/VxH2ChdqWf

　　— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 24, 2020

　　The "canon" on The Suicide Squad is a bit murky, regarding where it fits in relation to DC's numerous other movies, so whether or not deaths in the film will have a long-term impact on future DC films remains to be seen. But, for this film at least, it sounds like a lot of characters are going to die.

　　Gunn fanned the flames more with a follow-up tweet, asking "what two characters" fans think will survive The Suicide Squad. That doesn't mean he's directly saying that only two major characters will make it through, but he's certainly implying the possibility.

　　What two characters do you think are most likely to survive #TheSuicideSquad? @SuicideSquadWB https://t.co/7ry3GBQ20W

　　— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 24, 2020

　　Adding up responses, one Twitter user found that Harley Quinn (113 votes), King Shark (58 votes) and Polka Dot Man (31 votes) led the way in votes. Sorry, Weasel.

　　Ok here’s a count of who people think are going to live in #TheSuicideSquad. Thanks to @N_Richardson9 for the counting skills. Like so many polls, this one could be wrong & nothing is certain so get out and #VOTE (for elected officials, not Squad members). (Sloppiest segue ever). https://t.co/Lv8zCAB19P

　　— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 25, 2020

　　Gunn also had some interesting things to say about a major death from Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but since that's a spoiler for another movie, you'll have to click through this link to see it.

　　The next DC film will be Wonder Woman 1984, which is currently scheduled to hit cinemas on December 25.