‘Suicide Squad’ Concept Art Is More Stunning Than the Movie

There was a lot wrong with Suicide Squad, but visually it was one of DC’s more adventurous offerings, setting it apart from its predecessors Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman. It couldn’t quite get away from the rainy, dingy, dark Zack Snyder aesthetic, but gosh darn it, they tried to put some pops of color into the DC cinematic universe. Today, some very cool concept art has surfaced ahead of the film’s video release, showcasing how imaginative a lot of the initial character designs were — especially for Enchantress — before all the artists were probably informed that they could use any color they want, provided the color was between dark gray and darker gray.

First of all, can we talk about how awesome these other versions of Enchantress look?

Meanwhile, this version of Katana is sporting some extremely Predator-like dreads and... it works?

There was also a deleted scene between the Joker and Harley Quinn that was taken out of the movie, but you can at least see what it would’ve looked like.

Then there are some images that make it clear that at least one artist on the team was a big Blade Runner fan. These images really evoke the neo-noir atmosphere that Suicide Squad was probably going for, before it tripped over its own overblown plot.

Most of the time, concept art merely serves to give a vague feel for what a character or a scene would look like, and often is scrapped in favor of more economical, cheaper, or faster ways of costuming an actor or setting a scene. But the concept art, especially now that it’s all mostly done digitally, can be anything the artist has in their head. At least we have these pieces to show us the Suicide Squad that could’ve been.

Suicide Squad arrives on Blu-ray and DVD December 13.