The comic book movie world got one heck of a shake-up when Marvel announcedJames Gunn—originally ousted from the studio over old offensive Tweets—would be reinstated as director and writer ofGuardians of the Galaxy 3. That’s obviously huge news for Marvel’s post-Avengers: EndgamePhase 4, but it also puts a whole new spotlight on Warner Bros.' DC Comics Universe. Lest you forget, in the time it took Disney to rehire Gunn, the filmmaker walked over to the DC lot and got himself another quirky super-powered team-up project,The Suicide Squad.
So yes, questions abound, not the least of which is…what the hell exactly isThe Suicide Squad?
Producer Peter Safran’s attempt to explain doesn’t exactly help. Initial reports described Gunn’s script as something of a soft reboot, a reimagining of the template set byDavid Ayer’sSuicide Squad, with only major players likeMargot Robbie’s Harley Quinn andWill Smith’s Deadshot expected to return. (Deadshot isdefinitelyreturning, but willnow be playedbyIdris Elba.) Now, according to Safran [viaJoBlo], The Suicide Squad is not onlynota sequel, but also a “total reboot” of what came before:
How excited should people be forSuicide Squad 2?
“First of all, we don’t call itSuicide Squad 2‘cause it’s a total reboot, so it’sThe Suicide Squadand I think people should be extremely excited about it. It’s everything you would hope from a James Gunn script and I think that says a lot and that promises a lot and I know that we will deliver a lot.”
I’m curious to see if “total reboot” means the events ofSuicide Squadsimply never happened in current DCEU continuity, or if Gunn is just moving right the heck on past it without reference. Either way, Collider’s Jeff Sneider got the scoop on thenew Suicide Squad line-upthe reboot would introduce, including obscure baddies like Ratcatcher and Polka-Dot Man, plusDave Bautistaleaping over from the MCU to play Peacemaker.
It’s not exactly a surprise, though, that Warner Bros. took another path forward followingSuicide Squad. Ayers' film banked $746 million worldwide (and won an Oscar!), but basically became the punch-line of whatnotto do when telling a superhero story. The thing is a mess, tonally and visually, squandering great performances from Robbie and Smith in favor of a hack-and-slash edit job and soundtrack put together by your least cool uncle.
But sinceSuicide Squad, WB seems to have course-corrected by focusing on character over world-building. The billion-dollar-earningAquamanbarely mentioned the larger DCEU, and upcoming films likeJokerandThe Batmanare designed to be one-off stories set within a specific time. (EvenBirds of Prey, essentially aSuicide Squadspin-off, seems to have done away with the relationship between Harley Quinn andJared Leto’s Joker.) It’ll be interesting to see ifThe Suicide Squadtakes a similiar approach; a single mission from the team with no aims toward a sequel.
We’ll find out soon enough.The Suicide Squadheads into production this Fall.
