James Gunn In Talks to Direct ‘Suicide Squad 2’

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 & 2 screenwriter-director James Gunn, who was recently fired by Marvel Studios for distasteful tweets he made before taking his role with the company, is in talks to write and direct DC/Warner Bros’ follow up to the much maligned Suicide Squad (2016) according to The Wrap.

Suicide Squad 2 will mark the first project Gunn has been attached to since his controversial firing from Disney/Marvel earlier in the year.

The Guardians 1 & Guardians 2 screenwriter-director received much critical and audience acclaim for his work on the Marvel projects, with his light-hearted tone and well constructed comradery between characters being particular highlights; aspects of his style that are sure to fit the Suicide Squad brand.

Suicide Squad, which was met with a vastly negative critical response but made upwards of $700million at the worldwide box office, was directed by End of Watch and Fury director David Ayer, who reportedly wanted a much darker film than was eventually released, with studio interference apparently being to blame for the film’s controversially young PG-13 (12A) rating and ill-advised tonal shifts.

The news of DC/Warner Bros’ approach to Gunn comes at a time when the brand of the DCEU seems to be shifting from universe movies to more standalone features like the Joaquin Phoenix Joker project and a Harley Quinn centred female villain movie titled Birds of Prey, but it has been reiterated numerous times by the studio that they still intend to move forward with Jared Leto as The Joker as well as another Suicide Squad movie, ensuring they don’t altogether sever ties with the universe set up in 2016.

There is currently no planned release date for Suicide Squad 2 but it is expected that Gunn will re-write the original script written by Gavin O’Connor.

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