Could Suicide Squad present Batman from a unique perspective?

Between Tim Burton’s Batman, Christopher Nolan’s Batman, Zack Snyder’s Batman, and, to a lesser extent, Joel Schumacher’s Batman, one would think that there’s nothing new any artist can bring to the Caped Crusader. Suicide Squad could offer a unique approach, though, as it will interpret the masked vigilante from the perspective of villains.

Director David Ayer told IGN, “I’m dying to say this and I probably shouldn’t is, all the Batman movies have been from Batman’s point of view. He’s the good guy. He’s the hero of his own movie in all the movies we’ve seen.”

The audience may view the Dark Knight as a hero. Even some citizens of Gotham view him as a hero. From a villain’s POV, though, Batman is the true antagonist.

“If you look at what Bruce Wayne has done in creating the Batman persona, his idea was to terrorize criminals,” Ayer went on. “It’s sort of psychological warfare against criminals. This wraith that comes in the night and attacks and culls criminals from society. For the first time, we’re seeing Batman from the point of view of the criminals and he’s freaking scary.”

One of the major problems with the DC Extended Universe so far is that it hasn’t really done anything new. Sure, it’s provided a darker, grittier take on costumed heroes, but that’s not exactly bold or innovative anymore. Suicide Squad may finally give the DCEU a signature of its own with a villain-centric story.

We’ve gotten several recent movies about anti-heroes, most notably Deadpool. In this film, however, our protagonists are self-proclaimed bad guys that the audience would likely root against in any other film. Wouldn’t it be fascinating if Suicide Squad had us cheering on convicted killers and fearing a hero sworn to protect people? By putting an emphasis on villains, the DCEU could also distinguish itself from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has yet to give us a truly interesting, multi-layered bad guy outside of Loki.

Earlier this year, we all expected Batman and Superman to breathe life into this franchise. In an ironic turn of events, though, it might be the Joker that saves the day.

Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5.