'Suicide Squad' Latest: The Batmobile Appears in Toronto

Toronto gets turned into a film set on a semi-regular basis. It's no Los Angeles, but it sometimes plays her --- or any other North American city --- on the big screen. Not long after I first moved to the city, there was fake snow on the ground for the Scott Pilgrim movie (a rare case of Toronto playing Toronto). The street where I live is sometimes lined with yellow New York cabs, most recently for Kick-Ass 2, and the next spooky Guillermo Del Toro may be lurking around any corner at any time.

Right now, the city is overrun by the Suicide Squad movie, as demonstrated by our video and photos of Ben Affleck's heavy duty industrial Batmobile chasing down the Joker's brightly-colored Jokermobile during last night's shoot.

The photos, and the nine-second video of a Batman/Joker pursuit, come courtesy of cosplay photographer and friend-of-the-site Paul Hillier, who snaps the Silver Snail Halloween Party every year, and whose work regularly appears in Best Cosplay Ever. He was out with his camera last night when the Joker's startlingly shiny Lamborghini passed along Yonge Street, the city's major artery --- followed by the new Batmobile. Hillier reports that Batman's latest ride is huge; about as wide as a full lane.

A week ago your humble correspondent stumbled across another set-up for the movie, in which the same street was staged with the wreckage of a fake plane crash. If these details --- a plane crash, a Batmobile --- are significant spoilers, the makers of Suicide Squad aren't making any effort to hide them. They seem content to enjoy the attention that all the snooping has earned them; Toronto has become a living trailer for the movie. The Batmobile and Ben Affleck's Batman will most likely play a very limited role in the crowded Suicide Squad movie, perhaps appearing only in flashback.

Joker actor Jared Leto and Harley Quinn actor Margot Robbie were not in attendance during last night's shoot, but their stunt doubles could be spotted inside the Jokermobile. The key takeaway of this scene is that Joker is really embracing the Silver Age idea that characters other than Batman should have their own personalized vehicles. It's a short hop from here to the Thanoscopter.

Suicide Squad is set to open on August 6, 2016.