The Suicide Squad subtly included a meta-reference about James Gunn's Disney firing. In 2014, the filmmaker further opened up Marvel Cinematic Universe's cosmic side via Guardians of the Galaxy. The project was deemed risky as the rag-tag heroes didn't have brand recognition outside of loyal comic book readers. However, thanks to Gunn's creative insight, the Guardians of the Galaxy quickly become a premier MCU team.
Nevertheless, when the director was fired in 2018 due to some of his unsavory tweets from a decade ago being unearthed, it was a massive shock. At this point, Gunn had already done Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and was involved in crafting his characters' stories in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He was also in the middle of working on the story and soundtrack for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Though reasonably hurt, Gunn issued an official statement accepting his employer's decision on the matter and apologizing for his past blunders. Yet, at arguably the lowest point in his career, he was offered another gig: Warner Bros. reached out for him to potentially direct a DCEU film, which resulted in the well-received The Suicide Squad.
Gunn referenced this harrowing experience in his recent film in the subtlest, weirdest way. While Rick Flag's (Joel Kinnaman) yellow shirt is inspired by his appearance in the comics, in The Suicide Squad, he wears a graphic tee, which is frankly somewhat inappropriate considering who he was and what he was out to do with the new Task Force X in Corto Maltese. Upon closer investigation, the illustration has a deeper meaning. The rabbit wearing a cape on his shirt and the yellow shirt itself with the letters "WB" represent Warner Bros., the studio behind the film. The mammal is also carrying a sign that, when translated into English, reads "Obstacles Are Opportunities." Granted that this could be a random inspirational quote that just happened to be on Flag's eye-popping shirt, chances are that this was an intentional detail referencing how Gunn's Disney firing led to The Suicide Squad. After all, the filmmaker has a penchant for sneaking a lot of Easter Eggs in his projects.
Soon after Gunn accepted the job writing and directing The Suicide Squad, Disney, in a rare move, walked back on its initial verdict and rehired Gunn. Since he was fired, the filmmaker received overwhelming support from fans and industry peers, including the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy films who even penned a public statement. To be fair, the House of Mouse was kind of too swift in their decision, leaving them no chance to really analyze the situation. Many argued that it was a knee-jerk reaction in an effort to prevent presumed backlash had they taken their time. With that out the way, Gunn is now set to move forward with directing the story of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — not that there were any other notable candidates to take his place as director. Even so, the threequel has been significantly delayed, as Gunn needed additional time to focus on The Suicide Squad first.
Gunn has been vocal about ending his MCU stint with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Instead, he's set to return to the DCEU, with more projects supposedly lined up after The Suicide Squad. That includes the spin-off HBO Max series Peacemaker starring John Cena. Considering where he's currently at in his career, the line "obstacles are opportunities," whatever the official intention behind it, certainly rings true.
