Disney and Warner Bros. would probably never admit that their Marvel and DC superhero movies are direct competitors, since that’s not very professional and also one side is way better than the other, but Warner Bros. just fired a direct shot at Marvel Studios by hiring James Gunn to write Suicide Squad 2. That comes from Deadline, which says that Gunn might even direct film, meaning it would be the first new gig he’s gotten since right-wing trolls got him fired from Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 over a series of offensive posts he made on Twitter.
This is also notable for the fact that the first Suicide Squad, which centered on a team of villains deciding to drop their bullshit and be heroes (more or less), was clearly Warner Bros.’ attempt to make its own version of Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy movies. It didn’t turn out as well as Gunn’s movies did, so hiring him for Suicide Squad 2 seems like a pretty direct way to try and fix that. Meanwhile, The Accountant director Gavin O’Connor has just lost a job, as Warner Bros. had hired him to make the Suicide Squad sequel last year. Deadline says he’s already making another Ben Affleck movie, though, so he’ll be fine.