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The Suicide Squad director James Gunn has revealed a surprise inspiration for one of the DC movie's most iconic scenes: a 2012 cult classic video game.
On her escape from the Corto Maltese (Maltesean?) palace, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) takes out the royal guards with some extreme prejudice. Amid the somersaults and using the sharp end of a javelin in typically bloody fashion, Harley's world suddenly explodes into an illustration of flowers and vivid color.
Gunn told Collider that the idea for the moment came from Lollipop Chainsaw, a hack-and-slash game from Suda51 that James Gunn ending up writing alongside Masahiro Yuki.
"In that game… I always loved the way that the hearts and beautiful little things came out of people mixed with blood. So, a lot of it goes back to that, the aesthetic of mixing this horrible gore with Harley's starry-eyed way of looking at life and creating Harley-vision basically," Gunn said.
The director also explained the throwback to Gunn’s pre-Guardians days was always planned for the movie and was "in the first draft of the script."
The similarities don't end there. Lollipop Chainsaw's lead, Juliet, was voiced by Tara Strong. The voice actor has also portrayed, you guessed it, Harley Quinn in the Arkham video game series.
If you want to pick up a copy of Lollipop Chainsaw to try out for yourself you'll need a PS3 or Xbox 360 – and a fair chunk of disposable income. The game has gained cult status and, given the creatives tied to the project, is now worth more in places than it was on release.
Need to catch up on the DCEU? Here’s our guide on how to watch the DC movies in order.
