Suicide Squad 2 is now targeting an October 2018 production start date, in part to accommodate costar Will Smith's busy schedule. The Suicide Squad sequel was still listed as part of Warner Bros.' official DC Film slate at the Brazil Comic Con Experience over the weekend, along with such developing projects as David F. Sandberg's Shazam! and Patty Jenkins' as-yet untitled Wonder Woman sequel. However, unlike those two projects in particular, Suicide Squad 2 (not the confirmed title) doesn't have an official theatrical release date at the moment.

The Suicide Squad sequel has been in active development for much of the past year, even when it wasn't clear who would even be directing the film. With Suicide Squad helmsman David Ayer focusing his time and effort on getting a Gotham City Sirens movie off the ground instead, that left the director's chair open on the next adventure with DC's Worst. Heroes. Ever. The Shallows director Jaume Collet-Serra was in talks to direct the Suicide Squad followup at one point, but ultimately passed on the project to go make Disney's Jungle Cruise instead. Gavin O'Connor (Warrior, The Accountant) is currently working on the Suicide Squad 2 screenplay, with the expectation being that he will also direct.

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It was reported back in October that Suicide Squad 2, under O'Connor's watch, was moving along at a steady pace and even had a March 2018 production start date lined up. Omega Underground has an update on the situation and is reporting that the Suicide Squad sequel - with O'Connor still attached - is now targeting an October 2018 filming start instead. The production delay can at least partially be chalked up to Deadshot actor Will Smith's schedule, which is quite packed at the moment.

Suicide Squad - Will Smith as Deadshot

Smith has spent the last few months working on Disney and director Guy Ritchie's live-action Aladdin, where the actor voices The Genie character first made famous by Robin Williams in Disney's 1992 animated movie of the same name. Production is reportedly already underway on Smith's next project - the Ang Lee directed sci-fi thriller Gemini Man - and will continue on through to July of 2018, due to the effects-heavy nature of the film. Suicide Squad 2's new October production start date will thus allow the sequel to accommodate Smith's workload and should avoid creating any scheduling conflicts in the process.

Official plot details for the Suicide Squad sequel remain under lock and key at the moment, though rumor still has it that Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson will make his big screen debut as Black Adam in the film. The Rock will be teaming up with Collet-Serra for Jungle Cruise next spring and will presumably set to work after that on the Fast & Furious spinoff (which he and Jason Statham are starring in), which is scheduled for a Summer 2019 theatrical launch. However, that doesn't rule out the possibility of Johnson finding room to appear in Suicide Squad 2 next year too, seeing as his role in that film is expected to be relatively small by comparison.

With James Wan's Aquaman having wrapped production earlier this year, Shazam! starting filming in the first quarter of 2018, and Wonder Woman 2 being set to roll camera next June, it appears as though Suicide Squad 2 could be the first DC movie to hit theaters after those three projects roll out from December 2018 to November 2019. Stay tuned for more details on that front, as the story develops.

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Suicide Squad 2 doesn't have an official release date at the moment, but is tentatively expected to reach theaters by 2020.

Source: Omega Underground

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