With James Gunn writing and (possibly) directing the next Suicide Squad movie, it makes sense that his most ardent supporter, Dave Bautista, would want to make the jump from Marvel to DC to join the project. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Bautista took to Twitter to express his excitement over Gunn’s next project.
“Where do I sign up!” he tweeted along with a link to a story about Gunn’s move to Marvel’s comic book rival.
Obviously, this might be little more than a case of an actor vocally standing up for his friend, though Bautista has threatened to walk away from Guardians of the Galaxy 3 if Disney didn’t shoot Gunn’s script. In any event, this whole affair is shaping up to be quite a drama in and of itself.
When 2016’s original Suicide Squad brought in more than $745 million at the worldwide box office, a sequel seemed like a sure thing. David Ayer decided not to come back for seconds, and both Jaume Collet-Serra (Jungle Cruise) and Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge) were courted to helm the next installment before The Accountant and Warrior director Gavin O’Connor signed on to write and direct Suicide Squad 2 in September of 2017.
Since then the disappointment of Justice League sent shockwaves through the DC brand, and Warner Bros. has been rapidly retooling their slate of superhero fare. Planned projects such as Justice League and Man of Steel sequels have fallen by the wayside, with rumors that both Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck could be on their way out as Batman and Superman, respectively. Formally announced projects like Flashpoint, Green Lantern Corps, a Harley Quinn/Joker romance and a Cyborg solo film have been thrown into limbo as well. Right now the slate includes this December’s Aquaman, next year’s Shazam! and Wonder Woman 1984, the currently-filming The Joker one-off film and Birds of Prey featuring Margot Robbie’s Suicide Squad character Harley Quinn. Matt Reeves’ The Batman is also in active development.
Back in July, Walt Disney Studios dismissed Gunn from the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 due to Gunn’s past controversial tweets. Despite this, the Guardians of the Galaxy‘s main cast including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn and Bautista, who all still supported him and asked for Disney to reinstate Gunn as the film’s director.
Earlier this year, director James Gunn revealed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would be released in 2020. Filming was scheduled to start this Fall in Atlanta, but it is unknown if the film will keep to this schedule. The third Guardians film was meant to be the final outing for the original team lineup, and set up future films in the cosmic arena of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Suicide Squad was released in 2016 and earned about $750 million worldwide. Made for $175 million before marketing expenses, Suicide Squad stars Will Smith (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness), Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, Focus), Joel Kinnaman (Netflix’s “House of Cards”), Viola Davis (The Help, Doubt), Jai Courtney (Insurgent), Jay Hernandez (Takers), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Thor: The Dark World), Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors), Scott Eastwood (Fury), Cara Delevingne (Paper Towns), Adam Beach (Cowboys & Aliens), and Karen Fukuhara in her feature film debut. The comic book adaptation was written and directed by David Ayer for Warner Bros. Pictures.
Where do I sign up! James Gunn Boards ‘Suicide Squad 2’ To Write And Possibly Direct – Deadline https://t.co/OwdDbAm1Ks
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) October 9, 2018
