James Gunn to Write & Possibly Direct SUICIDE SQUAD 2

Looks like Marvel's loss is DC's gain.

Deadline has revealed that Warner Bros. has hired James Gunn to write and possibly direct the sequel to the 2016 DC Extended Universe film Suicide Squad. 

According to the article, Warner Bros. had director Gavin O’Connor lined up, but he's now directing Ben Affleck in the drama Torrance, which is also at the studio.  Reportedly, Warner Bros. has been in talks with Gunn to step in and develop Suicide Squad 2, and the deal was made after he settled out of Disney/Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.  

Disney let him go in July, following a series of old, controversial tweets compiled by alt-right journalists and sent to Disney.  Fans and various Guardians actors lobbied Disney to have Gunn reinstated as the director for Vol. 3, but Disney remained adamant in their position.

Gunn, 52, is best known as the director of the hit Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which made $773 million and $863 million worldwide, respectively.  In addition, he's directed the films Super and Slither, and has also written these four films, along with Dawn of the Dead (2004), Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, The Specials, and Tromeo and Juliet.

The first Suicide Squad film, written and directed by David Ayer, made over $746 million worldwide with a reported budget of $175 million, so a sequel was inevitable.  However, the film was critically panned, receiving a 28% approval rating based on 341 reviews.

In the meantime, Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie will be reprising her character of Harley Quinn in a film adaptation of DC Comics' Birds of Prey, directed by Cathy Yan.