Just a few days ago, the DCEU finally announced an order for its upcoming slate of movies. We've known for a while that Justice League and then Aquaman would be the next two DC movies, but thanks to the announcement, it has been confirmed that Shazam and the Suicide Squad sequel would be the next two movies. Only a potential wrench may have been thrown into that plan, because today news has broken that Suicide Squad 2 director Jaume Collet-Serra has now exited the movie in favor of the Dwayne Johnson Disney vehicle Jungle Cruise.
News broke today that Jaume Collet-Serra has attached himself to Jungle Cruise, which will start production next spring. The director reportedly chose Jungle Cruise over the DC project because he wanted the opportunity to originate a potential action adventure franchise with a huge lead was more appealing that directing a sequel. Warner Bros. and Disney reportedly met to handle the situation when Collet-Serra ultimately made his choice, per Deadline.
Warner Bros. has been looking into a director for Suicide Squad 2 for a while. It was thought at first that Suicide Squad director David Ayer would be back for Suicide Squad 2, but instead he shifted over to Gotham City Sirens, a movie project that will predominantly feature Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman. A few weeks ago, we learned that DC and Warner Bros. were looking to sign on Jaume Collet-Serra for Suicide Squad 2. We're not certain exactly where the deal was in terms of paperwork when Collet-Serra made his ultimate decision, but he will be doing Jungle Cruise instead of Suicide Squad 2, so something was obviously worked out.
The good news? It's not as if Warner Bros. only looked at Jaume Collet-Serra to direct Suicide Squad 2. Previously, we had noted that the studio was also looking at Mel Gibson, Jonathan Levine, Ruben Fleischer and Daniel Espinosa as possible choices to direct the upcoming sequel. A script is already being worked on, and presumably one of the above names or someone else entirely, will be hired in short order so that Suicide Squad 2 can start getting off the ground.
As for Jaume Collet-Serra, the director has helmed many project, but was sought after following the success of The Shallows. We'll keep you updated as he moves forward with the Jungle Cruise movie, a flick based on a traditional Disney ride which Dwayne Johnson has spent time researching in past months. We'll also, of course, let you know as soon as DC and Warner Bros. find someone who will stick with the project for the long haul. We'll let you know as soon as that happens. In the meantime, to check out the full list of upcoming DC movies, head here.
