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James Gunn to write (and possibly direct) Suicide Squad 2 - Situation Review

Yesterday it was dropped by Variety that James Gunn (Guardians Of The Galaxy, Slither) has been hired by Warner Bros. and DC to write the script for the upcoming Suicide Squad 2 and to possibly direct it as well. This is the first project that Gunn has been hired for since he was fired from Guardians Of The Galazxy 3 in July this year after several tweets that the filmmaker wrote around 8 years ago were revealed that caused serious controversy.

Initial Thoughts

I'm 50/50 on this news. James Gunn did an amazing job with the first two Guardians Of The Galaxy movies, personally, I think they're the most visually beautiful Marvel movies ever made, and Suicide Squad is basically DC's answer to GOTG. So this seems like a perfect fit! But from a business standpoint, this might not be the best idea. Given the controversy surrounding him, this may end up being more of a strike than a home run.

James Gunn

Whilst James Gunn has shown his talent for ensemble films with the GOTG movies, and an eye for visuals. So he would make a fine director for a project like Suicide Squad 2. However, given the controversy surrounding him, this might weaken the film's publicity. Disney fired James Gunn primarily because they wanted to keep their family-friendly reputation. Something that many felt Gunn's old tweets went strongly against. And so Warner Bros and DC might unintentionally lose the same audience that went against Gunn after his tweets were revealed, potentially harming the box office for this film. Although, on the flip-side of this, Gunn has gained a cult following through the GOTG films who were big enough to start a petition to bring him back. So said following may also come to support this film as either fans of James Gunn or as revenge against Disney for firing him. 

Gavin O'Connor

The main reason that I did not believe this story at first is that Gavin O'Connor (The Accountant, Warrior) has been attached to this project for over a year now. So I confused as to why people were saying that James Gunn was being considered to direct. But then it was announced that O'Connor left the project after being annoyed that his original story for the film was being used for the Harley Quinn/Birds Of Prey movie instead. Which is understandable and kind of a bad move on DC's part. It's also a real shame because I like Gavin O'Connor as a director. I liked Warrior and I loved The Accountant so I felt that he would have down a good job with Suicide Squad 2. But now we will never get to see what he would have done with the Squad. Hopefully, Warner Bros. tries to keep him in-house and compensate him for this by giving him another project to work on. It'd be bad for them to lose a talent like him.

Marvel Vs DC

After the backlash Marvel and Disney received from firing James Gunn, I imagine this news comes more of a punch to the gut. With DC trying to regain it's audience, particularly after the poor box office and critical reception of Justice League (2017, Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon), this hiring could be seen as a strategic strike to steal Marvel's audience by saying "If Marvel won't give you what you want then we will!". Although, DC did something similar with Joss Whedon (The Avengers, Justice League) who had left Marvel after being frustrated with the company, and that ended up being more of a shot in the foot. With many fans hating his edit and reshoots of Justice League and getting fans to petition for the "Snyder-Cut" of the movie. And with several who were happy with him stepping down to direct the Batgirl movie Whilst this story is different in nature to the Joss Whedon story, DC best make sure history doesn't repeat itself.

Conclusion

Whilst I think James Gunn is a good match for Suicide Squad 2 with his knack for good ensemble films, particularly with the GOTG films I am worried that the controversy surrounding him will affect the film's publicity. Also, I really would have liked to have seen a Gavin O'Connor version of this film. However, Gunn does have a cult following that will support this film. So it has that going for it financially.

So that's my coverage of the James Gunn hiring for Suicide Squad 2. What do you think of the story? Do you agree or disagree with any of my points? Leave a comment down below to discuss. And, if you liked this post then you can follow this blog for more content. Thank you for reading!
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