New Suicide Squad trailer leaks early – and includes a look at what the team are up against

The new The Suicide Squad trailer is here. Kinda. Throughout the day, the full-length teaser has been available for a select few on YouTube as part of pre-roll ads. Now, it's been leaked as an "unlisted" video likely masquerading as a sneaky marketing ploy.

Showcasing Idris Elba's Bloodsport in a particular tense showdown with Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, The Suicide Squad trailer puts all the pieces together, adds in a dash of crude humor (who had John Cena talking about buttholes on their DC bingo card a few years ago? Own up), and gives us a taste of what's almost certainly going to be the movie's Big Bad. It even makes reference to Bloodsport's past; the villain is incarcerated after shooting Superman with a kryptonite bullet.

But back to the matters at hand: Waller briefs The Suicide Squad on "Project Starfish". The entity is better known as Starro, the starfish-shaped alien supervillain whose intentions are almost certainly going to be world-breaking unless Waller's team can bring it to heel. As you can see by the trailer, it doesn't go so well, not least of all for Sylvester Stallone's King Shark.

Gunn, meanwhile, has leaned into the 'leak' being something by design, expressing his supposed dismay for actors releasing the trailer ahead of time.

Bloodsport nearly fatally wounding the Man of Steel shouldn’t come as a shock to those who have been following James Gunn’s social media in recent weeks.

Gunn revealed Idris Elba’s gun-toting anti-hero is in prison for "taking [Superman] down with a kryptonite bullet. If you believe these covers, he may not be the bad guy in that situation."

The Suicide Squad, which is neither a sequel nor a reboot according to Peacemaker actor John Cena, also has a locked-in runtime. Director James Gunn confirmed on Twitter that it would run for 132 minutes, including a post-credits scene – nine minutes longer than David Ayer’s original Suicide Squad in 2016.

The Suicide Squad, starring a packed cast that includes Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Peter Capaldi, Joel Kinnaman, and Viola Davis, is set for simultaneous release in US cinemas and HBO Max on August 6. It arrives in the UK a week earlier, lucky things, on July 30. The world of The Suicide Squad will continue to expand post-release. A prequel series featuring John Cena’s Peacemaker character is also heading to HBO Max in 2022.

For more from the worlds of DC and Marvel, check out our guide to new superhero movies.