The Suicide Squad's David Dastmalchian Weighs In On The Future Of Polka-Dot Man - Exclusive
When writer-director James Gunn's DC comic book movie opus "The Suicide Squad" was released in August 2021, it became apparent to fans that the film was a mixed blessing. Yes, the story introduced several new characters from DC Comics' rich roster of affable supervillains, but as it turns out, not all of them survived the havoc wreaked by the massive monster starfish Starro the Conqueror.
One such character whose destiny was sealed by the end of "The Suicide Squad" was Polka-Dot Man, an obscure character in DC Comics lore whom Gunn specifically wrote for his longtime friend and fellow comic book fan David Dastmalchian. Thanks to the nuance Dastmalchian brought to Polka-Dot Man, AKA Abner Krill, fans got to experience a tragic character full of complexity, which the actor enhanced with his own previous struggles with depression and the skin condition vitiligo. From the minute he appeared on screen, Dastmalchian made Polka-Dot Man the sort of character you could look forward to seeing more of in other adventures, but the protagonist Starro crushed those aspirations with one fatal thud of its tube foot.
Some of the members of "The Suicide Squad" did survive the film, though, including Peacemaker (John Cena), who joined fellow cast members Jennifer Holland (Agent Emilia Harcourt) and Steve Agee (computer expert John Economos) for a smash spinoff series on HBO Max in early 2022. The "Peacemaker" series was so well-received, in fact, that Gunn said he was working on a spinoff featuring another character from "The Suicide Squad."
That means, in a perfect world, Gunn could bring Dastmalchian's Polka-Dot Man back for a prequel series. The idea is on the mind of fans and colleagues, and the actor was willing to share his thoughts on the matter with Looper.
Dastmalchian is okay with leaving Polka-Dot Man's story the way it is
David Dastmalchian recently chatted with Looper in an exclusive interview to discuss the release of Volume 2 of his comic book series, "Count Crowley: Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter." During the interview, Dastmalchian said he appreciates the sentiments of fans and good friends like Steve Agee who would like to see Polka-Dot Man come back in a prequel series, but he's okay if that idea doesn't come to fruition.
"The way that James wrote the end of Polka-Dot Man is actually ... It's so tragic, but it's also really beautiful," Dastmalchian said. "If that was the end of Polka-Dot Man, as sad as that is, I'm satisfied because I do think it was such a tragically beautiful moment that he created that was so shocking to the audience."
Dastmalchian did, however, ponder the idea of returning to Gunn's DC universe in another capacity, and is all-in if the opportunity presents itself.
"James, I do believe, has used the same actor as different roles in different movies. My pitch to him would be ... who's more ridiculous than Polka-Dot Man? Maybe I could get a special cameo appearance and pop into a scene as Condiment King. That would be really cool," Dastmalchian said with a laugh. "How about Crazy Quilt, actually? I always thought Crazy Quilt was one of the most ridiculous Batman villains ever. If I happened to show up, and you couldn't recognize me, and I was in some kind of crazy makeup, and I got to be Crazy Quilt, that would be crazy."
The first issue of four issues of "Count Crowley: Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter" is in comic shops now, and also available through Dark Horse Comics.