James Gunn will write, may direct new ‘Suicide Squad’ movie

Warner Bros. has confirmed a report by The Wrap that James Gunn will write and possibly direct the next installment in its “Suicide Squad” series, which began with the money-making but critically panned 2016 title film.

The reported union between Gunn and WB/DC Entertainment seems to be a confirmation that Gunn’s firing from Marvel and the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise is final, despite his directing of two surprise “Guardians” hits and the cast coming to his defense online. Gunn was fired after the resurfacing of inappropriate tweets that included jokes about rape and pedophilia.

Gunn would come to WB/DC as a big-time talent acquisition. DC Entertainment has yet to catch up to the decadelong success of Marvel Studios, with only “Wonder Woman” as a certified hit in its “Justice League” era.

With “Justice League’s” critical failure, and “Wonder Woman” standing out in part because it wasn’t weighed down by strong ties to DC’s eventual superhero team-up, Gunn will likely not have to worry about connecting the Suicide Squad to any other future DC movies. Instead, he will likely be leaned on to flesh out returning (and possibly new) characters with a deeper story, better villain and stronger overall dialogue.

DC’s “Suicide Squad” team has many parallels to Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Both are comprised of characters that, before the films, were known to dedicated comic book fans but lacked the visibility of superhero big guns like Superman, Batman and Captain America. If Gunn can make it work twice with a heavily-armed Raccoon and a tree that only says one thing, DC likely thinks he can repeat that magic with the likes of Deadshot, Killer Croc and Katana.

Perhaps most intriguing would be what Gunn could do with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, who is not only the standout character from “Suicide Squad” but also one of the most popular characters in comics. Robbie will soon star in a standalone Harley Quinn film, “Birds of Prey,” so there’s still debate as to how big a role (if any) she’ll have a in a “Suicide Squad” film, although it would seem pointless not to try to include her.