Original Suicide Squad Director Says James Gunn Is Reinventing the Franchise

Don’t call The Suicide Squad a sequel. According to filmmaker David Ayer, it’s a complete reinvention of the franchise. Responding to a fan on Twitter Monday afternoon, the director behind the original live-action Suicide Squad revealed he has high hopes for James Gunn‘s take on the fan-favorite group of anti-heroes.

“It’s not a sequel it’s a reinvention and @JamesGunn is going to absolutely knock it out of the park,” Ayer tweeted. “I’m cheering every step of the way.” In a quick follow up tweet, Ayer confirmed his film will essentially serve as a standalone while Gunn’s will hopefully be the first of a franchise.

“Yes that is correct,” the filmmaker adds. “Some character and elements will be used but @JamesGunn is reinventing the universe. Everybody recognizes the immense potential of the franchise.”

According to Jai Courtney — one of the few actors to play the same character in both movies — Gunn’s movie will “for sure” be different than its predecessor.

“It’s going to be different, for sure, but I think everyone’s welcoming that challenge and welcoming the new energy in,” Courtney recently told ComicBook.com. “I loved [Suicide Squad director] David [Ayer], I loved working with David, I’d work with David again in a heartbeat. But Gunn, too, is quite prolific and really, obviously, does know what he’s doing. I’m excited to see what he brings to it. It’s going to be tonally different but very cool as well. The world has evolved from where we were at at that point; he’s going to have his own take on it, and it’s going to be great.”

The Suicide Squad is scheduled for release on August 6, 2021.

Upcoming DC movies include Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, Black Adam on December 22, 2021, Shazam! 2 on April 1, 2022, The Flash on July 1, 2022, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.