'Suicide Squad' is a diversity superhero in Hollywood

Viola Davis doesn’t know many people who fly around in capes, but she does know a few women like her Suicide Squad character, the no-nonsense intelligence officer Amanda Waller.

“I loved the way she looked,” says Davis of the Waller seen in the comics. “I loved the Afro, I loved that she was a big woman because that woman seemed real to me.”

White men pervade most big-budget comic-book movies, but not Suicide Squad (in theaters Friday). Director David Ayer wanted a diverse band of bad guys, and the resulting cast is a role model for Hollywood: Of the 11 core actors, only three (Joel Kinnaman, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney) are white males; four (Davis, Cara Delevingne, Margot Robbie and Karen Fukuhara) are women, and three (Davis, Will Smith and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) are black.

In addition, Jay Hernandez is Mexican-American, Adam Beach is First Nations (indigenous Canadian) and Fukuhara is Japanese-American.

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By contrast, of the seven main heroes of Marvel’s first Avengers film in 2012, six actors were white, one was black and only one was a woman.

Shawn Edwards, co-founder of the African-American Critics Association, says he “absolutely” loves the Squad casting, noting that it echoes Fast & Furious' multicultural approach. "The mix is natural, it’s organic and I applaud them," he says. "It’s a beautiful thing to see.

“I’m glad that finally a franchise in a comic-book universe has gotten it right. Marvel (was) very slow to the diversity party.”

Plus, it could significantly boost Suicide Squad's bottom line, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. "The global nature of the movie business dictates, both from a pragmatic revenue-generating perspective and as a true reflection of diversity, that smart and innovative casting decisions are vital to grab the biggest possible audience."

The biggest goal for Ayer, who grew up in a diverse South Los Angeles neighborhood, was creating a movie that reflected the lives around him.

“It’s less about ticking boxes,” he says. “It’s important for kids to see people who look like them in movies.”

It wasn’t such a big deal for Davis. She quotes her How to Get Away with Murder executive producer Shonda Rhimes: “I don’t see it as diversity. I see it as just Tuesday morning.”

Davis sees it the same way. “I go through my regular day and I see white blond women with their curly-haired brown children, I see Mexicans, I see Armenians and Russians and Asians. It’s just a part of my life.”

By having many ethnicities and making women notable leads in a project like Suicide Squad, “you can be free with the diversity of the world," Will Smith says. "There’s no opposing reality you have to adhere to."

“That is hugely important to me and something I want to be able to be a part of pushing forward in Hollywood,” adds the actor, whose Deadshot character is white in the comics.

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Suicide Squad is poised to break $100 million in its first weekend, which would be a record August opening. If this supervillain fest is successful, Edwards says, one lesson the industry could take away is how to create diverse cast without going out of its way.

“There are black characters, white characters, female characters — they’re all in the mix,” he says. “It just feels right.”