In terms of visibility, Jai Courtney’s Hollywood career got off to a phenomenal start, but it quickly led to him being labeled as a one-note hunk with a very handsome face and chiseled body—albeit one who didn’t possess a single ounce of charisma or screen presence.
The evidence was damning for a little while, as the big Aussie gave Bruce Willis a run for his money as to who could look the least interested during A Good Day to Die Hard, following it up with the awful I, Frankenstein. At least Courtney had the wherewithal to admit he was woefully miscast as Terminator Genisys‘ Kyle Reese, while his role in the Divergent franchise made it look as though he was the latest in the industry’s production line of bland, interchangeably good looking dudes with square jaws and bulging biceps.
However, despite the film itself being widely panned by critics, Courtney was a revelation as Captain Boomerang in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, chewing on the scenery with relish. Any interviews with the 35 year-old reveal a mischievous, sarcastic, and foul-mouthed force of nature that none of his major performances have even hinted at, so Digger Harkness was the ideal extension of his own personality. As you can see below, he’s now pushing for an origin story set before the events of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.
While a feature film feels like a bit of a stretch, why not an HBO Max series for Captain Boomerang? Given his fate in The Suicide Squad it’d have to be a prequel, but Courtney has displayed enough charisma as the DC Comics villain that he’s worthy of being given another crack at the character,