James Gunn
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In not-so-surprising news, James Gunn is reported to be in negotiations to direct the sequel to ‘Suicide Squad’.  He was announced as writing the script back in October, so most figured it was just a matter of time before Warner Brothers announced that he was going to direct.  Reportedly, the new picture is going to be called ‘The Suicide Squad’ and is not so much a direct sequel, as a reboot.  (It might sound dumb to tack “The” on the front of the name to differentiate it, but it worked for ‘The Wolverine’ and Warner Brothers seems to think it will work for ‘The Batman’.)

Gunn, of course, gained fame by directing ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and its sequel for Disney’s Marvel Studios and was hard at work on the third movie when he was fired by Disney after old, offensive tweets were released by political opponents.  Gunn has kept a low profile since, but he did produce the horror movie ‘BrightBurn‘ which will be released in May.  When Warner Brothers released the trailers for ‘Suicide Squad’, many fans noticed that the style (and music) bore more than a passing resemblance to Gunn’s ‘Guardians’ flicks.

Reportedly, ‘The Suicide Squad’ will retain the same sense of edgy fun as the ‘Guardians’ films.  It is rumored that this script will feature either an all-new or mostly-new cast, so fans may not get a chance to see Will Smith‘s Deadshot again.  As for the first movie’s true break-out hit, Harley Quinn, portrayed by Margot Robbie, she will next be seen in ‘Birds of Prey’, which is said to be the first of three films featuring the Clown Princess of Crime.

At one point, there were plans for Dwayne Johnson to make his DC debut as Black Adam in the ‘Suicide Squad’ sequel, but it is unknown if that is still the case.

‘The Suicide Squad’ (or whatever it winds up being called) is expected to be released in August 2021.  This follows the announcement that Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ is locked into a July 25, 2021 release date, so it looks as though WB is rapidly filling out its DC film slate for years to come.

Are you excited that James Gunn may be directing ‘The Suicide Squad’?  What characters would you like to see in this picture?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter