Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman trailers, footage stoke fan appetite

DC Films has stoked the fire of fans' imagination with the release of a full movie trailer for the anticipated antihero tale Suicide Squad and the first footage from the upcoming origin story Wonder Woman.

The film arm of the comics giant unveiled both elements Tuesday night as part of a TV special entitled The Dawn of the Justice League, which coincided with the debut of the new show DC's Legends of Tomorrow on The CW network.

Interest has been high for DC's summer release of the Toronto-shot Suicide Squad, an assembly of notorious villains (dubbed the "worst heroes ever") who are this time tasked with "saving the world."  

The full-length trailer, set to the Queen's rousing rock anthem Bohemian Rhapsody, provides a rollicking peek at the upcoming film and more thoroughly showcases the ensemble cast, which includes Jared Leto as Joker, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Will Smith as Deadshot and Canadian Adam Beach as Slipknot. Emmy-winner Viola Davis also appears in the film as ruthless government official Amanda Waller.

Suicide Squad hits theatres on Aug. 5.

The company also treated fans to a first taste of the long-awaited solo film centred on superhero pioneer Wonder Woman, which stars Gal Gadot as the titular Amazonian warrior and is directed by Patty Jenkins (who earned acclaim for her debut feature, Monster).

Set against the First World War, Wonder Woman will explore the mythological character's origin story ("She's the best fighter in the DC universe," said DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns) following her contemporary appearance in the forthcoming Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice in March.

Wonder Woman is slated for release in June 2017.

As expected, fans were delighted with the new material, sharing their enthusiasm online.