While he was labelled as a villain throughout the marketing campaign, El Diablo went out like a hero in David Ayer's Suicide Squad. After using his abilities to transform into some sort of fire god, Diablo went toe to toe with Incubus, before being blasted into smithereens by Rick Flag's bomb.
According to actor Jay Hernandez, he was unaware his character was set to die, as the change appears to have been added later on. “It was interesting, because there were some changes that happened later on,” Hernandez revealed to Comicbook.com, “I didn’t know that’s how the end was going to happen, early on. For me, it was important to make it good, make it impressive, and go out in a blaze of glory. Ultimately, I think it worked to give it some meaning, some emotional weight to the end of the story.”
Diablo's fate seemed pretty certain at the fim's conclusion, but Hernandez has hinted that we may not have seen the last of Chato Santana. "Of course there is [a chance he could return]! I’m not saying anything, just that it’s a possibility,” he said.
Diablo's role in the film seemed to be the sympathetic moral center of the group, with the character having been revealed to have accidentally killed his family with his abilities. Hernandez said that he put his all into this particular scene in order to drive home the emotional message of the film. “It was the scene I was most focused on. I wanted to make sure, because a lot of the story hinges on that moment,” he said. “It’s the moment the Squad is sort of galvanized. Before that, it’s a bunch of just random people and everybody has their own goal and direction, they hate each other, some are plotting to kill each other. After that, they sit down and they realize this is it, this is their shot or not, and they decide to do the honorable thing. I think part of why that happens is the opening up of Diablo, who has been closed off for the whole movie up to that point. It was a pivotal moment, and a really important scene for me.”
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About The Author:
Matt is a graduate of the Ryerson University School of Journalism, and has been a fan of superheroes since he picked up his first comic book issue as a child. While he works as a professional musician, Matt has a massive passion for comic books, films and heroes, along with participating in discussion and debate with the CBM community.