The Guardians of the Galaxy fame director James Gunn has reportedly been roped in by Warner Bros and DC Films to write as well as eyed to possibly direct the highly anticipated Suicide Squad 2. The news has been confirmed by IGN.

“It is confirmed that James Gunn is writing the next installment of the Suicide Squad franchise,” A WB representative told IGN.

As per reports, the film studio has given a ‘clean slate’ to Gunn with the freedom to do what he wants with the new film. So, this means Suicide Squad 2 will be a different take on the characters and not a direct follow-up.

Recently, when a Twitter fan asked Suicide Squad director David Ayer if he was disappointed by WB’s decision to essentially scrap much of what he established in the first movie, he praised the studio’s move to tap in Gunn who is likely the right man for the job.

“I think it’s an incredibly brave and smart move by the studio. James is the right man for the job!,” Ayer’s tweet read.

Filmmaker Gavin O’Connor (The Accountant) was previously attached to write and direct Suicide Squad 2. According to Variety’s Justin Kroll, O’Connor’s Suicide Squad 2 draft was far too close to the upcoming spin-off Birds of Prey, which the studio has already begun to work on. This was the reason that O’Connor decided to step away to take on his next project, Has Been. The director is still attached to Ben Affleck’s The Accountant sequel film if it ever gets made.

Earlier this year, Disney fired James Gunn as the director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after some of his old controversial tweets surfaced online. Although Disney’s decision received a lot of backlash from fans as well as GOTG cast members who asked the studio to reconsider the decision, the decision remained unchanged. The result is that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is still without a director.

Suicide Squad 2 doesn’t have a release date attached yet.

I think it’s an incredibly brave and smart move by the studio. James is the right man for the job! https://t.co/KaVD3dQosR — David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) October 9, 2018

Source: David Ayer