The mystery of who is playing King Shark in writer/directorJames Gunn’s highly anticipated upcoming DC movieThe Suicide Squadhas been solved. While many had their bets placed onTaika Waititifor the role given that he’s part of the cast, Gunn andSylvester Stallonerevealed today – just afterthe first trailerfor the film dropped – that Stallone is the voice behind the fan-favorite character.
King Shark is literally a humanoid shark and one of the stranger characters in DC Comics lore, so it makes perfect sense that Gunn would choose him for hisSuicide Squadmovie. It also makes perfect sense that he’d ask Stallone to voice the character, as theRockystar and filmmaker played a key role in Gunn’s Marvel sequelGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
The King Shark character is the standout of theSuicide Squadtrailer, rubbing shoulders with the likes ofMargot Robbie’s Harley Quinn andIdris Elba’s Bloodsport as the titular Suicide Squad are tasked with a dangerous mission at the behest of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). And King Shark is gobbling up bad guys and saying “nom nom nom.”
Gunn’s movie is a sequel of sorts toDavid Ayer’s 2016 film, although Gunn has said you don’t have to have seen the firstSuicide Squadto understand his movie. TheGuardians of the Galaxyfilmmaker was given free reign to make any DC project he wanted when Warner Bros. came calling, and he sparked to theSuicide Squadfranchise and built this movie from the ground up, enjoying a tremendous degree of creative freedom. Which is how we get things like Sylvester Stallone as King Shark.
In addition to confirming who King Shark is, Gunn and Stone also dropped a pretty terrific character poster for the hungry boy. You can check it out below.
The Suicide Squadwill be released in theaters and on HBO Max on July 29, 2025 and also starsMichael Rooker,John Cena,Joel Kinnaman,Jai Courtney,Peter Capaldi,Daniela Melchior,Jennifer Holland,Pete Davidson,Nathan Fillion,Sean Gunn, and many, many more.
Here’s the official synopsis forThe Suicide Squad:
Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission, with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—allof them.
