We are about a month away from the release of Suicide Squad, David Ayer’s devious new DC super-villain team-up that brings The Joker, Harley Quinn, Deadshot and more together in what will hopefully prove to be an antidote to this disappointing summer movie season. If you’re itching for a new look at the Squad, Ayer’s film has taken over the latest edition of EW, which features the cast on four different magazine covers as well as some new info on the highly-anticipated project.

The covers (above) come from EW, who spoke with Ayer about the pressures of directing Suicide Squad, and although he doesn’t mention Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice or all those highly-publicized reports of trouble between Zack Snyder and WB, it’s definitely between the lines:

Two years ago ­Suicide Squad was a tertiary [DC property]. No one knew anything about it. It was a cool little playground, and I was going to go make my movie. Now it’s like the hype bus. All of the attention has swung onto it, and it has to carry a lot more weight than it was ever intended to. I think it can sustain it. But it’s a lot of pressure. You definitely feel the pressure.

Batman v Superman didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the future of the DC movie universe, and that film was meant to get us stoked for the franchise — especially after the disappointment of Man of Steel. Suicide Squad is the weird, scrappy underdog and if it’s as entertaining as the trailers suggest, it could get fans excited for more DC movies. Perhaps most interesting is the idea that Suicide Squad’s success could have an effect on WB’s superhero plans moving forward; it already has, since Margot Robbie is developing a movie featuring an ensemble of female DC characters.

There’s also a new, very lengthy plot description for Ayer’s film, in case the official synopsis wasn’t detailed enough for you:

Suicide Squad follows the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and takes place in a post-Superman world where the government tries to determine how to respond in the event that an alien with more villainous intentions visits Earth. Ruthless intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) offers to recruit society’s worst criminals, those possessing lethal skills and superhuman powers. Her first target: the possessed archaeologist June Moone/Enchantress (Cara Delevingne).

When Midway City is threatened by a powerful mystical enemy, Waller’s plan gets the go-ahead. She cuts deals with the whole squad of prisoners: Deadshot (Will Smith) gets his Second Amendment rights ­reinstated, Harley (Margot Robbie) is set free from her cage, Diablo (Jay ­Hernandez) steps out of his fireproof prison, Boomerang (Jai Courtney) and Slipknot (Adam Beach) each get to wield their signature weapons once more, and Killer Croc ­(Adewale Akinnuoye-­Agbaje) emerges from the swamp. The only condition is this: Obey orders or die. This is strictly enforced by squad leader Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), the samurai Katana (Karen Fukuhara), and of course the explosive devices – developed by Wayne Enterprises – inserted into their necks. However, the arrival of the tatted-up Gotham City mega-criminal, the Joker (Jared Leto), might doom the mission thanks to his plan to reunite with his true love, Harley.

Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5.

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