Is 'The Suicide Squad' A Sequel Or A Reboot? Don't Ask James Gunn

News regarding ‘The Suicide Squad’ has conflicted practically since the project was first announced.  Warner Brothers released ‘Suicide Squad’ (no ‘The’) in 2016, and while a bunch of people saw it, due to its huge budget, it ended up being a financial disappointment.  (It doesn’t help that most people didn’t like it, either.)  But when fan-favorite director James Gunn signed on to direct a follow-up, fans were eager to see what the man behind Marvel’s popular ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ brand would do with a ragtag group of villains, employed by the government for black ops missions from which they may not return.  But considering that ‘Suicide Squad’, ‘Batman V. Superman’, and ‘Justice League’ were duds, Warner Brothers seemed to be attempting to forget them and move on to new properties.  That’s when word surfaced that ‘The Suicide Squad’ wasn’t going to be a direct sequel to David Ayer’s film, but rather a reboot.

 

RELATED:  Well, Maybe It’s Not A TOTAL Reboot: Viola Davis And Joel Kinnaman Will Also Be Back For ‘The Suicide Squad’

 

But news seemed to fluctuate on that status.  Originally, it was believed that only Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn) from the first movie’s cast was going to return, and would be joined by a new group of criminals– namely King Shark, Ratcatcher, Polka-Dot Man, and Peacemaker.  But since then, RUMORS have surfaced that Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), and Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag) would also be back and that Idris Elba had been cast to replace Will Smith as Deadshot.  It has since been revealed that Elba is actually playing an all-new, undisclosed character.

So what’s the deal?  Is ‘The Suicide Squad’ a sequel or a reboot?  Entertainment Tonight (shared via Fandom Online) turned to Gunn himself for answers.  While promoting the new horror movie ‘Brightburn’, which he produced, Gunn responded:

“You know, these terms are all so narrow. There are so many terms… It is what it is. You’ll see in two years when it comes out.”

Well, that was helpful.

Whatever ‘The Suicide Squad’ is, it has added Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, and reportedly, John Cena as Peacemaker.  It was rumored that Michael Rooker was in talks to play King Shark, but Rooker himself denied that.  It was also rumored that Gunn wanted Benicio del Toro to play the film’s villain, “The Mayor,” but there hasn’t been any additional news regarding that.  Both Rooker and Del Toro were part of Gunn’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies.

‘The Suicide Squad’ is expected to begin filming later this year to be released in theaters on August 6, 2021.