Ant-Man’s David Dastmalchian To Play The Suicide Squad’s Polka-Dot Man

 

For the moment, actor David Dastmalchian will be safe from the Baba Yaga.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Ant-Man veteran will be returning to the DC Entertainment fold for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Reportedly, Dastmalchian will play the Polka-Dot Man. Created by Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris, Abner Krill used mapping dots to plan his crimes and several dot-themed weapons in his arsenal. Batman ended the threat by hitting him square on the jaw in Detective Comics #300. The character disappeared for decades until subsequent writers returned to the concept in the 1990s and re-envisioned him as one of the earliest themed criminals in Gotham City.
The character is not linked to the Suicide Squad, but its very premise allows villains from far and wide to become part of Task Force X. Besides the returning Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), the film will reportedly feature a new batch of criminals including Ratcatcher, Peacemaker, and King Shark. All will be press-ganged into a mission of vital national security interest by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, who also returns). Idris Elba is also set to star in the film, but after flirting with the idea of replacing Will Smith as Deadshot, both the production and the actor decided against it; leaving the character available to Smith should he ever want to return.
Dastmalchian’s role will not be his first brush with the DC Comics world. He appeared as one of the Joker’s goons in The Dark Knight. He’s the one Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) kidnaps and interrogates for information on the clown’s whereabouts. And as THR points out, he played future Flash villain Abra Kadabra in an episode of The Flash.
Considering the expansion of Warner Bros. Pictures and Marvel Studios interests in superhero movies, expect more cross-pollination of talent like this in the years to come.
The Suicide Squad comes to theaters on August 6th, 2021.