Despite scathing reviews, DC’s Suicide Squad was a financial success, raking in more than $745 million worldwide. It should be no surprise then that Warner Bros. plans to make a sequel expanding its interconnected film universe. While details about the film remain scarce, Warner Bros. is quickly putting the pieces together.
For those who missed Suicide Squad, the film took a different approach than most superhero movies, following a band of supervillains who, having been captured, are forced to work for the government and undertake high-risk missions. The band of misfits includes the assassin Deadshot (Will Smith), grimy thief Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), and former psychologist Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie).
The plot of Suicide Squad 2 is a mystery for now, as is the full roster, although a couple of very big names might be joining the gang both in front of and behind the scenes. Here is everything we know about the Suicide Squad sequel so far.
A couple of Marvel defectors join the Squad
In late February, Will Smith left the Suicide Squad sequel over scheduling difficulties, putting the fate of his character, Deadshot, into question. Now, it looks like Warner Bros. might replace one master assassin with another. Idris Elba, who rose to fame in The Wire and Luther and who played the all-knowing Asgardian warrior Heimdall in Marvel’s Thor flicks, is all set to slip into Floyd Lawton’s mask for the second Suicide Squad mission, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
If the discussions hold up, Elba would make the second person involved with Suicide Squad to make the jump from Marvel to DC. James Gunn, who co-wrote and directed the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, will script and helm the Suicide Squad sequel following his unceremonious removal from the Marvel Cinematic Universe over a series of old, controversial tweets. The Hollywood Reporter says that Gunn’s script is very popular at Warner Bros. and that the studio moving forward with the project as quickly as possible.
Margot Robbie is expected to reprise her role as Harley Quinn for the film, although the rest of the cast will be mostly comprised of characters who weren’t in the first movie. Early rumors suggested that Suicide Squad’s leader, Rick Flagg (played in Suicide Squad by Joel Kinnaman), would return for the sequel, but that no longer seems to be the case.
A weapon of mass destruction
Dwayne Johnson has been teasing “a really cool surprise” for the introduction of his DC Comics character, Black Adam, and it looks like that is no exaggeration. Signs now point to the supervillain making his debut in Suicide Squad 2. Sources tell The Wrap the plan is for Johnson to appear in the film.
Nothing is confirmed at this point, but according to insiders, the sequel will see the motley antihero crew working to locate a weapon of mass destruction. Their search will reportedly put Black Adam in their sights, as he himself will be the weapon of mass destruction. It is an intriguing idea, not only because it would bring Johnson’s character into the fold but because the popular actor’s addition would possibly give the film a boost.
A mastermind
Previously, Warner Bros. tapped Gavin O’Connor to direct the Suicide Squad sequel. O’Connor, who recently directed the action film The Accountant, wrote a script for the upcoming movie, but allegedly left the project after Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), which allegedly has a very similar plot, got the green light instead.
Before O’Connor landed the job, other directors rumored to be on WB’s short list included Mel Gibson — apparently back in demand after the success of Hacksaw Ridge. Recently, Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra, who directed the recent shark attack movie The Shallows, seemed to be the top choice for Suicide Squad 2; however he took another gig directing Jungle Cruise, an upcoming film starring Johnson.
Updated on March 6, 2019: Added Idris Elba casting news.