Sounds Like James Gunn’s Directing That SUICIDE SQUAD Sequel

For reasons known only to the Entertainment News Gods who govern our miserable lives, Warner Bros. waited until this evening to drop a metric shit-ton of news on us. First we learned that Ben Affleck won't be returning for Matt Reeves' The Batman, which was also just given a June 2021 release date. Then we learned that the Suicide Squad sequel is also arriving in 2021 (in August, to be exact).

In tonight's previous Suicide Squad update, we learned the film was moving ahead with a screenplay written by James Gunn, who has long been rumored as a possible director for the film. Well, guess what? It's thirty minutes later, and The Hollywood Reporter has made it official: James Gunn has entered negotiations to direct the Suicide Squad sequel.

Furthermore, THR says...

"The sequel has the title of The Suicide Squad and is not being labeled a direct sequel but as a relaunch...

Sources say that Gunn’s focus is to take the franchise in a new direction with mostly an all-new cast of characters and actors. Sources also say that the project is also very much rooted in Gunn’s vibe, as seen in the Guardians movies."

So, The Suicide Squad isn't a sequel, but a relaunch, and will feature all new cast members and characters. On the one hand, this probably means no Jai Courtney, and that truly sucks. On the other hand, this also probably means no Jared Leto (which, as Britt pointed out earlier tonight, is probably good news in terms of avoiding awkwardness on-set). You take the bad with the good.

Lots to discuss here, isn't there? Gunn's return to the superhero genre (and for a rival company, no less!), an all-new Suicide Squad needing to be cast, Jai Courtney getting screwed over by the universe yet again. Go ahead and hit the comments below to let us know what you think of all this, and stay tuned for further updates on The Suicide Squad as they become available.