Advertisement

GotG's James Gunn confirmed to jump to DC

Photo credit: Frazer Harrison - Getty Images
Photo credit: Frazer Harrison - Getty Images

From Digital Spy

Update: It's now official - Guardians of the Galaxy's James Gunn has left the MCU behind to take up residency in the Worlds of DC. After some reporting earlier in the week about negotiations between the two sides, their union was announced on the official DC Daily web series on Thursday (October 11).

"It's official that we have got a new member of the DC family," host Tiffany Smith said. "Acclaimed writer/director James Gunn has been attached to write Suicide Squad 2. Gunn is poised to bring a completely fresh take to the franchise after the first film was written and directed by David Ayer."

That "completely fresh take" probably indicates a cast overall. Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista has already volunteered to make the jump to the Worlds of DC with Gunn.

Photo credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for SiriusXM
Photo credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Original: James Gunn is getting the ultimate revenge over his controversial firing from the Marvel Cinematic Universe by jumping to its rival, the Worlds of DC.

The filmmaker is in talks to write and potentially direct a "completely new take" on Suicide Squad 2, according to The Wrap. It'd be an intriguing move, since the Squad are very much an outlaw team like Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy were for Marvel.

Guardians of the Galaxy star and vocal Gunn supporter Dave Bautista already seems keen to follow the director, tweeting: "Where do I sign up?"

Photo credit: Warner Bros.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Gunn's hiring suggests that DC is scrapping a previous Suicide Squad 2 script from co-writers Gavin O'Connor and Todd Stashwick, the latter of whom said just last month that he'd just finished a draft of an "exciting story, deepening these characters" from the first film.

It remains to be seen whether Gunn's Suicide Squad 2 would bring back Harley Quinn or Deadshot, since Warner Bros is currently working on spin-offs with both Margot Robbie and Will Smith.

Suicide Squad 2 was originally expected to be released in 2019, but it's looking increasingly unlikely that it will be able to hit cinemas before 2020.

It has been a whirlwind few months for James Gunn, who was fired by Disney as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 during Comic-Con International in July when old jokes about rape and other controversial subjects from his Twitter resurfaced.

Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Gunn publicly apologised and Guardians cast members called for him to be re-hired, but Disney ultimately stuck to its guns while still conceding to use the last script he'd turned in before his sacking.

All the while, the filmmaker has also been working on a new horror movie called BrightBurn, which was recently moved from its November release date all the way to May 2019.


Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.

('You Might Also Like',)