Suicide Squad may have endured a thrashing from critics last year, but it was one of 2016's biggest box office successes, making more than $745 million worldwide. With a number like that, it's no wonder Warner Bros started working on a sequel. Since David Ayer transitioned to Gotham City Sirens, the hunt has been on for another director to work on Suicide Squad 2, and while there was a period where it looked like Mel Gibson could take the reins, apparently the frontrunner for the job currently is The Shallows' Jaume Collet-Serra.
Jaume Collet-Serra was first rumored to be in contention to direct Suicide Squad 2 back in March, and now he reportedly stands at the top of the list of succeeding David Ayer. Besides him and Mel Gibson, other directors who have been looked at since the beginning of the year include Jonathan Levine, Ruben Fleischer and Daniel Espinosa. According to THR, this Collet-Serra update comes after the studio recently received a new Suicide Squad 2 treatment that was written by The Incredible Hulk's Zak Penn, and a new script is now being worked on. The Legend of Tarzan's Adam Cozad was previously hired to write Suicide Squad 2 back in March. Warner Bros hopes to start production by mid-2018.
Like David Ayer, a fair amount of Jaume Collet-Serra's body of work has been action oriented, although he also has plenty of experience in the horror and thriller genres. His most notable credits include the House of Wax remake, Orphan, Non-Stop, Run All Night and The Shallows, and he also has The Commuter coming up next January. Of all the DC Extended Universe movies in development, Suicide Squad 2 is one of the better fits for Collet-Serra given its dark and bizarre tone. The only DC project that would be even better for him is Justice League Dark, which is currently without a director following Doug Liman's departure. It's also worth noting that Collet-Serra isn't the only horror movie director Warner Bros has in its sights, as Lights Out's David F. Sandberg has been eyed to helm Shazam.
When Suicide Squad ended, the team members, with the exception of Diablo and Slipknot, were back at Belle Reve, whether that was in a prison cell or free to move around as they pleased. However, Harley Quinn was broken out by The Joker in the movie's final seconds, and while Harley will co-lead Gotham City Sirens with Catwoman and Poison Ivy, Margot Robbie is expected to return for Suicide Squad 2 as well. Will Smith will also likely reprise Deadshot, who has his own spinoff film in the works.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on Suicide Squad 2 and the entire DCEU slate. The next entry in the franchise, Justice League, will be released on November 17.
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