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Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League is coming soon, starring AEW champion Samoa Joe. Ahead of the game’s January 2024 release date, I had the good fortune to sit down with the Samoan Submission Machine to talk about a wide variety of topics concerning the game.
We also talked about his future in acting and professional wrestlers whom he’d like to make tap out if they come for his title. He’s an effortlessly cool man who perfectly embodies the nature of King Shark in the upcoming DC title.
It’s not his only acting credit, though, as he also recently embodied Sweet Tooth in Twisted Metal, which we also discussed. There are few people who are both as menacing and verbose as Samoa Joe is, so it was a real pleasure to break down the nuances that went into King Shark in Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League.
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Samoa Joe discusses Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League, Twisted Metal, and more
Q. You aren't a stranger to comics, having co-written at least one comic in the past for WWE. Were you already a fan of the Suicide Squad franchise?
Samoa Joe: Yes, I mean, you know, I kind of have a working knowledge of mostly DC. You know, the Suicide Squad, especially in the last couple of decades, is really kind of coming into its own. Yeah, I mean, it's always been a title that I've kind of enjoyed reading and picking up and seeing whatever different team-ups were going on at the time. So yeah, I'd say so.
Q. You do seem like the perfect fit for King Shark, if I can be honest. Did you have any input when it came to dialogue or in-game character motivation?
Samoa Joe: No. And I'm not sad about that. Because, you know, the writers at Rocksteady really put together a very fun, definitely more complex character than most people are used to seeing in King Shark. No, he's a very naive, very smart book-read individual. But you know, he just he's, he's naive to the world.
He hasn't experienced it. And he's very much excited to kind of finally be out in the open and getting to see all the things he's read about in person. And he does his best, but sometimes that enthusiasm bubbles to the surface and just kind of comes out randomly as he's going through Metropolis.
Q. King Shark is a really interesting character, even among the DC roster of supervillains. I believe he’s been around since the early days of Superboy. How different is this version of the character compared to the mainline comic run that he debuted in?
Samoa Joe: You know, I think that King Shark was probably a bit more of a mature, angry King Shark. This version is a you know, it's very much a King Shark kind of coming just out of his youth, becoming the man-shark that he was always destined to be. So you know, it's a different experience than that.
Like I said, he is very naive. And you're just now he's finally out of Belle Reve, finally given free rein to, you know, traverse the world and see it for himself. And you know, he's a developing King Shark, you're not quite the overlord sea tyrant that he may be in the future.
Q. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a spin-off of the Arkham series, which you've gone on record to say you're a fan of. Though it has a very different aesthetic and setting, the two are intrinsically linked. How do you think fans will react to this story?
Samoa Joe: I think they're gonna respond well to it. I think it's definitely a departure from the Arkham series, both in tone, style, in the scaling of the combat. I think it's much bigger in Suicide Squad where, you know, you have the Arkham series where combat, for the most part, it was a very intimate experience, confined to a room, maybe an alleyway, a small section of a street where this is fighting over a couple of city blocks.
And it's definitely a more expansive combat system. It's definitely one that's way more you know, that for lack of using the buzzwords these days, it's straight-up vertical combat, you're fighting from the top of the skyscraper to the ground. You know, it's really been a very cool experience to see it all come together.
Q. Suicide Squad as an IP has really taken off in the last couple of years - mostly thanks to the film reboot and the Peacemaker series. Do you know if there was any talk around Peacemaker making an appearance and getting John Cena on board to play him again?
Samoa Joe: Yeah, I'd have no idea about that. But man, doesn't that sound right? It’s perfect. That needs to be put out the universe; just sayin’.
Jason: That’d be great! Hey, you guys here at Warner Bros., you heard it! [Laughs]
Samoa Joe: Put it out there!
Q. You've played an early build of the game, as I'm sure many of the cast have. What makes this game special, exciting?
Samoa Joe: Well, a ton of cool stuff is coming out right now, you know, some fantastic legacy games that are coming out. I mean, there's all kinds of reasons. But I think, for the most part, when it comes to things like jumping on with a bunch of your friends and having fun and, you know, getting into crazy battles, like I said, over the width of a couple city blocks.
You know, I think Suicide Squad definitely scratches that itch. And it's been fun, the builds that I’ve played, and when I've got to see—and I played in the public Alpha too, because obviously, you don't want to check it out on your own side with the family stuff. We've had a lot of fun playing in it. And I'm kind of looking forward to seeing it all like, all together. I've seen only bits and pieces, I want to see the package come together.
Q. Now that you've played King Shark and Sweet Tooth, if you could play anyone in an upcoming DC comics film, who would you play?
Samoa Joe: I mean, obviously I’m very fond of Shark. I'd love to reprise him. He's a lot of fun. You know, in the pantheon of the DC heroes, I don't know. I like to give Solomon Grundy a shot because he had the most unique voice back in the day.
Like, for the Superfriends were like, Oh, you remember how he talked? Like, that voice is stuck in my head so much that now it's just like, I want to take a crack at whatever accent that was. I have no idea what it was. It would be Solomon Grundy because I think that'd be pretty good.
Jason: I was gonna say Gorilla Grodd would be right up your alley, too!
Samoa Joe: Yeah. I can do Gorilla Grodd. That Superfriends Gorilla Grodd voice is pretty - The very wispy, breathless, Gorilla Grodd, you know?
Q. In addition to playing one of my favorite DC Comics assassins, you've also played Sweet Tooth - the most interesting character in the Twisted Metal series. Twisted Metal was a TV/Peacock series that many were skeptical about because it just seemed like such an unlikely product. However, it turns out that it was incredibly entertaining. Do you have any particularly fond memories of playing the psychotic clown?
Samoa Joe: Well, yeah, I mean, and I've expressed this to a lot of people, you know, like, kind of taking the role. It kind of weighs on you. Because you realize what Sweet Tooth meant to you as a gamer. I mean, it was one of the original launch titles with PlayStation; it was something that, you know, if you owned a PlayStation, you probably own Twisted Metal. That's what you would show off to your buddies. Yeah, and, you know, there's a lot of memories in those couch Co-Op sessions.
Or excuse me, those couch competition sessions where you sat there a lot of trash is talked directly to your face right here. And that could endear a lot of people to a character. So, you know, new Sweet Tooth was a heavy weight to bear. But I'm glad I got to bear it because they hit it out of the park. You know, between the writing, between Will [Arnett]’s performance, I think we provided what I think a lot of the fans wanted for Sweet Tooth, and I can't wait for Season Two.
Q. You've done a few acting roles by this point - Juggernaut in DOTA Underlords, King Shark, and Sweet Tooth. Though you’re still very active in the ring, do you feel like you have a future in acting?
Samoa Joe: Absolutely. You know, and I've been fortunate enough to be involved in a lot of projects that are very, very fun and cross into fandoms that I enjoy. So it's been awesome in that aspect. But, you know, obviously, I enjoy being able to bring characters to life, especially for fans. And as long as they continue to enjoy my work, I'd be more than happy to keep giving it to them as they request.
Q. I also wanted to say congratulations on winning the AEW World Heavyweight Championship. As a lifelong wrestling fan and a fan of your career, I love seeing the Samoan Submission Machine on top of the heap. How does it feel for you, though?
Samoa Joe: I mean, it's a wonderful thing, you know, to be champion, always a glorious endeavor. And, you know, definitely a vote of confidence as far as where the product is going. So, yeah, very much enjoying the reign. I'm looking forward to the many challenges that we have waiting in the wings. A lot of first-time matchups.
Q. AEW has brought back/or is bringing back the Ranking System, which is, in my estimation, a great idea. You've said on TV that would-be contenders to the throne can bring their resume and their reputation so they can get choked out. I might be paraphrasing a bit. Does anything change with the rankings coming back, does it change how you approach challengers?
Samoa Joe: It doesn’t change anything I do. I mean, what I do is obviously effective; I'm the World Champion. What it changes is the quality of the competitor that I have to actually deal with. I don’t have to deal with every scrub that starts a beef on the outside. Some moron in the parking lot thinks he should be the number one contender, I don't get to deal with that anymore. Now, there is a system in place that keeps the less-than-desirable away from the desirable competitors. And that's what the rankings are all about.
What I'm trying to say is there's people out there that suck who wanna be champion. And I don't want suckiness around me, you know, like, I absorb a lot of my environment. So if there's people that suck around me, oh, then you know, I know as hard as it is to believe, I might start sucking because of all the suckage that is in my general vicinity. See, the championship committee, they keep those sucky people away from me. You can only be good if you're in my vicinity.
Now, you know, like, all I absorbed is the very best of vibes, because only the best are around me. And if you're not that type of person, then you suck. You're kept away from me. That's the science behind what we're doing here. You know, people ask, why are they doing it? Then please point them to this interview and say, Joe broke down the science of why suckiness can't be around him. And they will understand what I mean.
Jason: Now we know!
Q. So we already know that you’ve basically beaten the best that the world has to offer over your career.
Samoa Joe: I know, isn’t it great? I mean, really! There’s really, the best in the world have fallen before me. The whole lamentation of the women, and that. It’s just, it happened.
Jason: But if you can pick from, let’s say, some of the up-and-comers in AEW, the people you haven’t, you know, choked out yet. Who are the sort of people you would be interested in scrapping with?
Samoa Joe: Oh, well, we can choke out Swerve right away. We’ll get [Prince] Nana too. Doin’ that goofy-a** dance all the time. That's gross. Nobody wants to see that. Maybe everybody, but you know, whatever. Hangman, you know he stares too hard. You know you shouldn't be who you are and stare that hard all the d**n time. You know? Looks get you messed up. Unfortunately, Hangman is probably gonna be on that list. You got guys like yeah, you know Ricky Starks man he’s a star, right? Choke his a** out too, that’s all I’m sayin’. It's real simple, you know?
Hey, have you seen Powerhouse Hobbs? You seen that? That boy big strong one. He’s a beast, right? Put his a** to sleep. This is what we're talking about here. Just anybody can get it. But I hope Kenny Omega get well, I really do, man. He’s struggling, so that the minute he's well, choke his a** out. He'll be right back where he was at, you know what I mean? Express ambulance in, ambulance right back. That’s what we’re lookin’ to do.
Jason: No wait, just, right back to it!
Samoa Joe: Yeah, right back to it! Went in with a certain injury, healed from that, which we hope, we’re all rootin’ for him for that, came back, went back, different injury. I gave him. See? Fresh. Fresh and new. You know, he gets to stay with people he’s been hangin’ around with for a while. We’ll make that happen.
Q. So, we’ll wrap this up with this: What do you think the future holds for Suicide Squad? The future is bound to have DLCs or updates. We already know that the Joker is the next playable character. What would you like to see from the game?
Samoa Joe: Like I said, I think, you know, some of the Elseworlds stuff I think people are going to be really surprised by. Obviously, there's probably going to be more and more very iconic characters added to the Squad, and I’m excited for people to see them too.
You can hear Samoa Joe in the upcoming Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League when it launches on January 30, 2024. You can also catch Samoa Joe as the AEW World Heavyweight champion on Wednesday nights on AEW Dynamite.
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