David Ayer reveals he was offered the chance to direct a Suicide Squad sequel, but he passed. Ayer joined the DC Extended Universe early on as the writer and director of 2016’s Suicide Squad. Under his guidance, the anti-hero movie led by Will Smith’s Deadshot and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn became a massive hit. Suicide Squad grossed almost $750 million worldwide, despite the fact that it had a mixed reception.

Right before the release of the film though, reports of studio interference on Suicide Squad started to surface that pointed to Warner Bros. and DC Films meddling with Ayer’s original vision for Suicide Squad. At the time, Ayer stood by the movie and was then announced to be the director of the Harley Quinn spinoff Gotham City Sirens. The immense popularity of Robbie’s performance brought about the development of several Harley-focused films, such as this year’s Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). But, the box office success of Suicide Squad also meant that a sequel would happen.

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The next installment of the Suicide Squad franchise is currently slated to release next year, but it will not be directed by Ayer. Despite the long development of the sequel, his name was not often in the conversation as a possible director. Ayer recently appeared at the Television Critics Association panel for his new Fox series Deputy and talked to Slashfilm about what else he is working on. During the conversation, Suicide Squad 2 was brought up and Ayer was asked if he was offered to direct it. He said, “I had a chance to do it, but I went another way.”

Considering the difficult post-production process on Suicide Squad, it is not a surprise that Ayer decided to go in a different direction. He went on to admit that he is still drawn to blockbusters and superhero movies, and teased, “It’s definitely an arena I’ll play in again.” At the moment, the best opportunity for him to do so is Gotham City Sirens, but it’s currently on hold, likely until WB and DC see how Birds of Prey performs. If the interest in Harley remains high, then Ayer may finally get a chance to do Gotham City Sirens after all. And if he does, the new leadership at DC and WB compared to his last experience with them could result in a better experience for Ayer.

Of course, Ayer passing on directing a Suicide Squad sequel opened up the door for Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn to step aboard. Ayer has already voiced his support for Gunn’s take on the franchise but more recently commented that The Suicide Squad takes place in a different continuity. It will see several cast members from the original return, but Gunn has also added many new actors to the ensemble, including John Cena and Idris Elba. Hopefully, all of this will be for the best and results in a great sequel to Suicide Squad and Ayer getting a shot at a tangentially related DC movie.

Source: Slashfilm

Key Release Dates
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  • Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)Release date: Feb 07, 2020
  • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)Release date: Dec 25, 2020
  • The Batman (2022)Release date: Mar 04, 2022
  • The Suicide Squad (2021)Release date: Aug 06, 2021
  • Black Adam (2022)Release date: Oct 21, 2022
  • Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2022)Release date: Dec 16, 2022
  • DC League of Super-Pets (2022)Release date: Jul 29, 2022
  • The Flash (2023)Release date: Jun 23, 2023
  • Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)Release date: Mar 17, 2023
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Cooper Hood
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Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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