James Gunn confirms he has another The Suicide Squad spinoff show in development for HBO Max. The Guardians of the Galaxy director made the jump to the DC Extended Universe in 2018 to create a new installment in the Suicide Squad franchise. He brought a mostly new cast of characters to the series as Warner Bros. and DC Films allowed him to soft-reboot Task Force X. The end result was The Suicide Squad earning rave reviews and Gunn creating a spinoff show for WB's streaming service based around John Cena's character Peacemaker.
The eight-episode Peacemaker series is midway through its first season on HBO Max following a three-episode premiere in January 2022. Even before the series debuted, audiences were interested in other characters from The Suicide Squad receiving the same treatment. As Peacemaker received glowing reviews, Gunn started to tease the possibility of other Suicide Squad spinoffs. No official announcements came, but that was before Peacemaker became a huge hit for HBO Max, as it has beaten The Book of Boba Fett in terms of demand.
Now in an interview with Deadline, writer/director Gunn has confirmed he's working on another The Suicide Squad spinoff show. The Peacemaker creator didn't get into details about what the next spinoff is and which character it will star. Deadline reports that the show is in very early development. HBO Max hasn't officially greenlit the show per the outlet's sources, but the streaming service is reportedly excited by the idea and Gunn's enthusiasm to do it. Here's what Gunn said about the second Suicide Squad spinoff:
We’re working on something else now, another TV show that’s connected to that universe. I can’t quite say.
The news of Gunn and HBO Max working on another Suicide Squad spinoff shouldn't come as too big of a surprise. As Gunn says in the interview, Peacemaker is the biggest show in the world right now, so HBO Max wanting more from this universe is a no-brainer. Although Gunn refused to confirm who exactly the next spinoff revolves around, he did tease that it's connected to the Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad universe. He also said that it won't be as much of a comedy as Peacemaker, which could possibly provide clues as to what character Gunn is interested in exploring more of.
In terms of the character possibilities, Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) are near the top of fan lists to get a spinoff show. Since Elba and Robbie are some of the busiest actors in Hollywood, that might be difficult to accomplish. A less-comedic Suicide Squad spinoff could star Ratcather 2 (Daniela Melchior) after her scene-stealing role. Of course, Gunn has plenty of options at his disposal, ranging from the aforementioned villains to prequels starring dead characters like Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) or Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman).
Since the new The Suicide Squad show is not officially confirmed, there is the question about when it could happen. Gunn is busy for the next year or so doing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and a Holiday Special for Marvel Studios. He's also quite optimistic that Peacemaker season 2 will happen, and there's even a chance a proper The Suicide Squad sequel comes. If Gunn is as hands-on with the next spinoff as Peacemaker, audiences may have to wait a bit for the new show.
Source: Deadline
