The opening shot of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is a rad one. The 2021 DC blockbuster opens on what appears to be a filtered image of Michael Rooker as Savant, but then the camera lifts and spins and we understand that our first look at the character was actually through the reflection in a muddy puddle. It’s a cool bit of cinematography that instantly delivers thematic information to the audience… and it notably wasn’t planned in any way by the filmmakers and came about from a happy accident on set.
I learned this cool behind-the-scenes story a few weeks ago at San Diego Comic-Con where I had the opportunity to sit down with production designer Beth Mickle. The filmmaker has worked with James Gunn multiple times – on films including The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the upcoming Superman: Legacy – and I asked about experiences with on-set inspiration in their collaboration. Mickle recounted the day on The Suicide Squad set when the crew was setting up for the movie’s first scene and how all the plans that had been made went out the window when a better idea came to mind. Said the filmmaker,
