Suicide Squad 2 Has A (Sort of) New Frontrunner To Be Director

IMAGE VIA CLAY ENOS/ WARNER BROS/ EW

Steps towards a Suicide Squad sequel are slowly building as it looks like Warner Bros have found a more realistic frontrunner to helm the project with Mel Gibson officially ruled out.

Even though Gibson was a high bar to reach for the studio and fair dos to them to aim high, it wasn’t going to happen because despite me liking Suicide Squad, the Oscar winner was never going to direct the sequel.

This opening has now led to Deadline revealing The Shallows director Jaume Collet-Serra is now the top choice for WB to direct Suicide Squad 2.

However, this isn’t the first time Collet-Serra’s name has been mention with this project as The Tracking Board’s Jeff Sneider rumoured the Spaniard was in the mix during an episode of his ‘Meet The Movie Press’ podcast.

After this news broke The Hollywood Reporter added the reason why Gibson isn’t in contention anymore is due to delays to the Suicide Squad 2 script as pushed back production and this forced Gibson to move on. The most recent story treatment was handed in by Zak Penn, who wrote X-Men: The Last Stand, The Incredible Hulk, the story for Avengers Assemble and most recently Steven Spielberg’s Ready, Player, One. Now the newly written script will be based off this.

Corret-Serra is a relative unknown, but he does have feature film experience and is part of the Warner Bros system directing a number of low budget B-movies from them including House of Wax, Orphan, Unknown and Run All Night (both starring Liam Neeson).

Neeson and Corret-Serra will be re-teamed again for next year’s The Commuter.

His experience with working with lower budgets should help Suicide Squad 2 and though it won’t be a mega budget, Warner Bros execs believe he’s ready to move up and handle a budget of about $150 million.

I think this hire will be a better fit for WB and will likely make a better film. Gibson is the much, much better director, but I'd have a feeling if Gibson was hired, he wouldn’t be around for long. Furthermore, I''m not saying the Spaniard has made a great film, but he hasn't made a bad film either so maybe give him a chance.

IMAGE VIA CLAY ENOS/ WARNER BROS

Finally, Variety added their own piece to the story as they added the studio would love to have Suicide Squad 2 in production by March 2018.

If this is the case, then I wouldn’t be surprised if it had a February 2018 release date, but I would still have a cheeky bet on a Summer (probably August) 2018 release. Have an announcement at San Diego Comic Con next week, the script being worked on until late September/early October 2017, filming beings in November 2017 until January/February 2018, edit from February to late July, released in August 2018.

IMAGE VIA CLAY ENOS/ WARNER BROS/ EW