The first three episodes of the long-awaited third season of Harley Quinn are finally streaming on HBO Max and they feature The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker director, James Gunn, as himself. It’s been two years since the last season of Harley Quinn came to an end, but fans agree it was worth the wait. The new episodes are getting high praise from critics and audiences alike, in fact, ComicBook.com‘s own Liam Crowley gave the new season a 4.5 out of 5 and called it a “grand slam.” Based on the first few episodes, it looks like Gunn will have a pretty solid arc this season directing a Thomas Wayne biopic starring Billy Bob Thornton. Harley Quinn showrunners recently had a chat with Insider and said they would love for Gunn to return next season.
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“We’d love to have [Gunn] back if he’s ever around and we end up getting lucky enough to do another season,”Schumacker shared. “It would be great.”
“We knew he was a fan of the show,” Patrick Schumacker explained. “He had sort of just, out of the blue, been tweeting about the show, clips, or just thoughts on it – all very positive.” He added, “We knew we were going to be doing this storyline that involved a sort of prestige awards-worthy biopic of Thomas Wayne, kind of ‘Aviator’-style … We thought of James because, I think it’s fair to say, he makes big-budget popcorn movies that are not this. But now this is his transition into… Now he’s in his Scorsese period and he’s making something a little bit more serious.”
“I just DM’ed him because we happened to follow each other, never thinking I would get an answer. We don’t really know each other. I’ve never met him in person,” Schumacker continued. “What ended up happening was he got back to me almost immediately and was like, “I’m in. Let’s do this. Here’s my rep’s info. Let’s make it happen.’” He added, “Within a few weeks, I got to voice direct him … It was remote because he was up in Vancouver shooting Peacemaker. We spent like an hour or so together, remotely, and it was a blast.”
“He’s a funny improviser,” Schumacker revealed. “He could have said no to all this stuff and he didn’t. He said yes to all of it… It was like a fish to water in this sort of context for him.”
Harley Quinn‘s next episode drops on HBO Max on August 4th.
