Idris Elba is Joining the Suicide Squad in a Familiar Role

What a time to be an Idris Elba fan – and really, aren’t we all? The Avengers: Infinity War star will be making the leap from one comic universe to another. After news broke earlier this week that Will Smith would not be reprising his role of Deadshot in Suicide Squad, THR has confirmed that Elba will be stepping into the assassin’s shoes.

Smith reportedly has too much on his plate to return for the Suicide Squad sequel,

Suicide Squad 2 Gets New Title, Release Date & Director James Gunn

While Suicide Squad‘s most beloved character—Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn—has her own film coming out, the sequel to one of the DC Extended Universe’s biggest hits has been on hold for a quite a while. Until now. The Hollywood Reporter has the news that Guardian of the Galaxy‘s James Gunn is helming the project. What’s more, the film will be less of a sequel and more of a “relaunch,”

James Gunn in Talks to Write & Direct Suicide Squad 2

It looks like writer/director James Gunn may have found his first project in his post Guardians of the Galaxy franchise career. After Disney fired him over insensitive Tweets, Gunn had met with Disney and Marvel executives. It was unclear whether he’d land on another Marvel project, possibly keep his old Guardians gig, or, move on to something else. Now The Wrap reports that Gunn may be heading to Marvel competitor DC to write and possibly direct Suicide Squad 2.

Your Suicide Squad 2 Villain Might be Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam

How might you give Suicide Squad 2 a villain that’ll immediately goose the film’s prospects and give Will Smith’s Deadshot and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn a nemesis worth fighting? Cast Dwayne Johnson as a weapon of mass destruction known in the comics’ universe as Black Adam.

The The Wrap has the juicy scoop (h/t Collider), which says that Warner Bros. is eyeing 

Suicide Squad 2 Lands The Accountant Director

The Suicide Squad is getting back together under new leadership. Variety reported that The Accountant’s Gavin O’Connor has been tapped to direct the antihero misfits in the sequel.

O’Connor may have gotten an endorsement from The Accountant collaborator and star Ben Affleck, who plays Batman in another realm of the DC Comics Universe and who made a potent cameo in the original Suicide Squad.

WB Leaning Towards The Shallows Director Jaume Collet-Serra for Suicide Squad 2

Director Jaume Collet-Serra has put together a fine career of making taut thrillers on relatively modest budgets. His last film, The Shallows, was a smart, pared down woman-vs-shark thriller that took a thin, if clever conceit (Blake Lively's character is only 200 yards from shore, but there's a great white after her, and there's no way she can make it back to shore without confronting the shark) and teased out every last drop of tension.