Writer/director James Gunn says The Suicide Squad is the ultimate, all-time comic book movie. Gunn started out writing indie horror and working on films such as Warner Bros’ live-action Scooby-Doo and Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead. After making his directorial debut with the horror-comedy, Slither (2006), and helming his first superhero outing with Super (2010), Gunn brought a rag-tag group of misfits, a.k.a. the Guardians of the Galaxy to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Due to his work on the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Gunn is now best known for subverting expectations associated with comic book movies. Before the release of that first film, causal moviegoers did not know the names Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Drax. This is why, when Marvel/Disney haphazardly (and briefly) decided to fire Gunn, Warner Bros. hired Gunn to write and direct a DC project of his choosing. Given his affinity for oddball outcasts, Gunn was drawn to John Ostrander’s The Suicide Squad. The reboot/sequel to David Ayers Suicide Squad (2016) sees Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and Task Force X and welcomes little-known newcomers including Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Weasel (Sean Gunn), Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), King Shark (Sylvester Stallone), and T.D.K (Nathan Fillion).
To promote The Suicide Squad’s August release on HBO Max and in theaters, Gunn, Robbie, and Cena—sporting his Peacemaker costume—recently stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! During the conversation, Gunn talked about wanting to make the “ultimate all-time comic book movie." Read what he had to say below:
"Really, I just wanted to do the ultimate all-time comic book movie, and I created The Suicide Squad based on one of my favorite books of all time by John Ostrander about a group of really crappy supervillains being used as fodder by the US government for Black Ops, putting them out on suicide visits where most of them die. This group of Suicide Squad members goes to Corto Maltese, a fictional island off the coast of Argentina, to try to stop an insurrection.”
Gunn’s villainous ensemble is set to honor Ostrander’s comic by being an unpredictable, R-rated romp. Having complete creative control over the project, Gunn has repeatedly teased The Suicide Squad will have a devastating death toll. He’s warned fans not to get too attached to any characters. On this press tour, Gunn also said he believes contemporary comic book movies are boring; saying “if they don’t change, they’re gonna get really really boring.” That said, movies taking place within the MCU have often been criticized for being formulaic.
The Suicide Squad looks to live up to its hype and be one of the most exciting comic book movies in quite some time. Clearly, WB has faith in Gunn’s ultimate all-time comic book movie as they’ve already produced the HBO Max spin-off Peacemaker which was created, written, and mostly directed by Gunn. Following his work in the DC Extended Universe, Gunn will begin production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The third Guardians entry is set to be another "ultimate all-time comic book movie" and will likely be his last collaboration with Marvel Studios.
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live
