Michael Rooker: Marvel Firing James Gunn Is Terrible, But He Has ‘Suicide Squad’

The future of Marvel Studios has been hit with some major setbacks after the delay of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which only occurred because of writer and director James Gunn being fired by Disney.

And yet, while Marvel scrambles to find someone to fill Gunn’s seat, the filmmaker seemingly has landed on his feet as he is in the running to take over the next Suicide Squad movie from DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Gunn’s friend and frequent collaborator recognized this twist of fate while speaking at Walker Stalker in Atlanta, asked about what he thought about Gunn being fired from the franchise he helped put on the map.

“It’s terrible, isn’t it? Yeah, but oh well, guess what? He’s on a gig already. Suicide Squad, that’s right. He’s writing it and directing it as well,” Rooker said at the convention.

Gunn is the most recent name to be associated with the franchise. The first film was wildly successful at the box office, but it was panned by both fans and critics. But because of its success, Warner Bros. moved forward with plans for a sequel, but those ideas have shifted dramatically in the years since Suicide Squad first hit theaters.

Though original director David Ayer was rumored to be involved, reports suggested he was pivoting to work on a girl-gang movie based on Gotham City Sirens, which would include Harley Quinn. The Accountant director Gavin O’Connor was brought in to write and direct Suicide Squad 2, and that movie was said to be going into pre-production in 2020 based on Warner Bros. reception of the script.

O’Connor’s name has not been associated with the project ever since Gunn’s name popped up, and Ayer’s project has seemingly been abandoned in favor of the Margot Robbie-led Birds of Prey movie that’s set to go into production next year.

Gunn has faced some hardships ever since he was targeted by alt-right harassment, which found old tweets he made in reference to subjects like pedophilia, racism, transmisogyny, and more. Gunn has since called them jokes made in poor taste, but Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn decided to sever ties with the director entirely.

The future still seems to be up in the air, and it’s uncertain whether we’ll see another Suicide Squad movie — or even another Guardians of the Galaxy movie — anytime soon.