Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra, known best for his work within horror and thriller genres, has been touted as the forerunner to direct ensemble superhero sequel Suicide Squad 2, according to Deadline.
Collet-Serra has built himself a formidable reputation for films like 2005’s House of Wax remake, Orphan, Run All Night and 2016’sThe Shallows, starring Blake Lively.
It’s a marked step away from David Ayer’s direction of 2016’s Suicide Squad which, although earning a whopping $745 million at global box offices, was relentlessly panned by critics worldwide.
The DC Extended Universe film, developed by Warner Bros, has reportedly been eyeing a number of directors to spearhead the sequel. The most notable of these has been Mel Gibson, who received an Academy Award nomination for his 2016 directorial effort, Hacksaw Ridge.
As well as the sequel, a number of Suicide Squad spinoffs have already been announced, including origin stories for Tatsu/Yamashiro Katana (played by Karen Fukuhara), Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie, who will also co-produce the spinoff) and Floyd Lawton/Deadshot (played by Will Smith). It’s set to be an incredibly busy few years for the DC EU, with more than a dozen more films planned, also including Justice League (November 2017), Aquaman (2018), The Flash (2018), Cyborg (2020) and many others.
While the director and full cast are yet to be officially announced, Warner Bros hopes to begin filming Suicide Squad in Spring 2018, with an aim to release the film in 2019 or, more realistically, 2020.
