James Gunn was recently reinstated as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but that hasn’t slowed down plans for his take on The Suicide Squad. “It was all handled incredibly elegantly,” said Peter Safran, a producer on Gunn’s upcoming DC film, in an interview with Joblo. “Everybody knows on both sides that Suicide Squad is the priority today and he’ll finish that movie and then everybody knows that his next film will be Guardians. It’s the best of all possible both worlds, I think, for fans and for James Gunn himself.”
Safran also spoke about Gunn’s upcoming take on The Suicide Squad as well as his involvement with both Marvel and DC. “First of all, we don’t call it Suicide Squad 2 ’cause it’s a total reboot, so it’s The Suicide Squad and I think people should be extremely excited about it,” Safran said. He continued, offering fans a short quip about Gunn’s script for the film. “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.”
It’s unclear whether Gunn will continue any plotlines from the first Suicide Squad films. But, considering Deadshot’s recent recasting alongside Safran’s comments, it’s likely this will be completely separate from that 2016 trainwreck. If rumors are to be believed, Gunn could even be expanding the team’s roster to include characters such as Ratcatcher, King Shark, Polka-Dot Man, and Peacemaker.
Finally, Safran was asked about the alleged Marvel/DC rivalry and how Gunn feels about working for both companies simultaneously. “You know what I love about James directing for both Marvel and DC is he has always espoused the view that that which unites comic book and superhero lovers is much greater than that which divides us,” Safran said. “Because, there’s always been this Marvel/DC rivalry, which he has said, and I agree, is absurd. There’s room for everybody and certainly that which unites us all is far greater than that which divides us, so hopefully, they’ll see that you can be both a Marvel and a DC fan and the world won’t spin off its axis.”
The Suicide Squad was recently given a new release date of August 6, 2021. Marvel has yet to announce a release date for the third Guardians film.
