James Gunn, the writer and director of the DC Extended Universe film, The Suicide Squad, has stated he will not reveal the other DC films he considered before taking on the villain team-up sequel. Neither a direct sequel nor soft reboot, the upcoming film centers on the titular group as they are tasked with destroying the Nazi-era prison and laboratory, Jotunheim, on the fictional South American island of Corto Maltese. The film will feature a bevy of new team members including Idris Elba, Daniela Melchior, David Dastmalchian, Sylvester Stallone, John Cena and Michael Rooker.
A sequel to 2016's Suicide Squad was fast-tracked by Warner Bros. after its box office success but hit a number of speed bumps as original writer/director, David Ayer, departed due to creative differences with the studio on both the first film and the sequel. A number of directors came and went in the years following. On the heels of Disney severing its ties with Gunn before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, WB and DC scooped the filmmaker up to write and potentially direct the project. Though Marvel and Disney reversed course and reinstated Gunn for Vol. 3, Marvel head, Kevin Feige, confirmed he would be given all the time needed to finish The Suicide Squad before returning to the threequel.
In an impromptu Q&A with fans on his Instagram while heading to a night shoot for HBO Max's spin-off series, Peacemaker, Gunn was asked what his second choice was for a DC film adaptation. Though shutting down revealing which properties he was looking at, he did tease there were a few specific ones that caught his eye. See his full response below:
The phoenix-like situation of Gunn's time with Marvel Studios has been a real rollercoaster to read about for the past few years, but his comments praising the various WarnerMedia branches does seem to indicate a brighter future for the writer/director at DC. With the studio and DCEU looking to find its footing as an interconnected universe, it could certainly use talented storytellers such as Gunn to carry it to greater heights. Plus, with Gunn not being the only Marvel filmmaker interested in joining DC's ranks as Scott Derrickson has expressed prior interest in helming a Constantine movie, now would be the time to keep him in the fold.
With a new take on Superman currently in the works from Ta-Nehisi Coates, chances are low that Gunn's DC future will include helping Man of Steel save the day once again. But as time draws near for the release of the highly anticipated The Suicide Squad, it will be interesting to see if his particular brand of storytelling and direction fares better for the team and establish him as the next best thing to happen for the DCEU. Plus, for those eager for his Marvel return, he'll finally be getting back to work on Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 when it enters production later this year.
Source: James Gunn
