HBO Max Boss Plays Coy About James Gunn's Future The Suicide Squad Spinoffs
James Gunn is about to be a major presence in the DC landscape, with him and Peter Safran officially signing on to be co-CEOs of the newly-minted DC Studios, overseeing movies, television series, and more inspired by the publisher. On top of all of that, Gunn is expected to still creatively collaborate within the DC space, both with a sophomore season of Peacemaker and with other elusive projects. Among these is a second HBO Max series spinning out of The Suicide Squad, which Gunn has teased would take a different tone than Peacemaker. While we still know next-to-nothing about the spinoff, that hasn't stopped fans from being excited by the possibility of it. Sarah Aubrey, the head of originals at HBO Max, recently played coy about what that second spinoff could be — but praised Gunn's creative approach.
"I absolutely cannot say a single word about any of this," Aubrey told Variety. "I will tell you one of the great pleasures of my job is getting a peek inside of James Gunn's brain, and it is wild and inventive place. I can say with certainty, whatever is coming from him in that neck of the woods is going to be really exciting for me."
What is James Gunn's other The Suicide Squad spinoff?
Reports in recent months have begun to hint at what the second project could entail, including the possibility of Viola Davis reprising her role as Amanda Waller in an HBO Max-exclusive series produced by Gunn and Safran. Gunn subsequently teased that the series might not be what fans are expecting, which has prompted fan theories ranging from the Secret Six to Checkmate and beyond.
"I know where [Peacemaker Season 2] goes emotionally and we're figuring out the plot stuff," Gunn teased in an interview earlier this year. "Frankly, I'm working on another DC thing, and maybe another one. So we've got a couple of different things we're trying to balance with the story."
What is James Gunn's new role at DC?
Gunn and Safran are expected to creatively and financially oversee nearly all of the next four years of upcoming movies and shows inspired by DC's comics. While we'll have to wait and see exactly what new projects come up under the duo's four-year tenure, fans and even other creatives in the superhero space are definitely excited to see what's in store.
"[For them], running DC Studios is a passion project, not just a job," Zaslav explained during the company's Q3 earnings call. "James is a brilliant storyteller who has the distinction of being the first and only filmmaker to direct the movie for both Marvel and DC. Peter's a prolific producer whose credits include DC's highest grossing movie, Aquaman, as well as the entire Conjuring universe, the most successful horror franchise of all time. I could not be more thrilled to have them join our ranks. And I'm excited for what is to come. I spent a lot of time over the last few months with James and Peter, talking about our strategy and long-term plans for the future of DC across TV, animation, and film. They have a powerful vision and blueprint that will drive a more unified creative approach. [It] will enable us to realize the full value of one of the world's most iconic franchises. They're hard at work right now."
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