James Gunn appears to have landed on his feet and in another comic book film universe. He has signed a deal to write the script for Warner Brothers’ ‘Suicide Squad 2’. He has not signed on to direct, but that is an available option, depending on how the screenwriting goes. Gunn was suddenly fired from the third ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movie by Disney in July, after some offensive, old tweets were released by alt-right activists, who disagreed with Gunn’s liberal political stance. Despite the cast of ‘Guardians’ rallying to support him, and fans going so far as to rent billboards urging Disney to reinstate him, Disney has not budged.
Gunn’s ‘Suicide Squad’ is reportedly not eyed as a sequel, but rather a fresh start after the lackluster first film. Reportedly, the characters used will be Deadshot, Harley Quinn, the Joker, Captain Boomerang and Killer Croc, all of whom appeared in the first film in varying degrees.
The first ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movie was a surprise hit for Disney and Marvel Studios. Gunn struck gold with a balance of humor, action and underdog scrappiness plus a campy soundtrack featuring light rock hits of the ’60s and ’70s. No one expected this bizarre flick, featuring a gun-toting, foul-mouth raccoon and a lumbering, intelligent tree to prove as successful as it did, but the rollicking tone helped set the stage for future Marvel movies, most obviously, ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ which ditched the somber Shakespearean mood of the first two ‘Thor’s for a free-wheeling, cosmic romp.
It’s also hard to ignore the impact ‘Guardians’ had on ‘Suicide Squad’. This was another ensemble picture, featuring a ragtag group of misfits teamed up for the common good. But as it was originally crafted by director David Ayer, it was a darker, grittier affair. After the success of ‘Guardians’– and the relative failure of the dark and gritty ‘Batman V Superman’– ‘Suicide Squad’ was heavily reshot and edited, to make it quirkier and more comedic. The first trailer was moody and sinister. The second, post-‘Guardians’ ad mixed in classic rock hits and a more madcap tone.
So ‘Suicide Squad 2’ may be a perfect fit. It allows Gunn to develop another film, featuring an eclectic ensemble cast, in a comic book setting. And it gives some prestige to Warner Brothers. Despite the extensive copycatting of ‘Guardians’, the first ‘Suicide Squad’ was nowhere near the hit that ‘Guardians’ was. But by getting the mastermind behind the original misfit hit to tackle this, ‘Suicide Squad 2’ could be a fresh start and a step in the right direction for Warner Brothers.
What do you think? Are you excited to see what Gunn can do with this property?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
