Mel Gibson To Direct ‘Suicide Squad 2’?

According to , Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment are currently courting none other than Mel Gibson to direct Suicide Squad 2. The actor-turned-director is said to be one of a few names in the mix for the in-development project, another being Daniel Espinosa (Safe House, Life). Gibson, whose latest film Hacksaw Ridge is up for a number of Academy Awards, is said to be in early talks for the sequel, although no official offer has been reportedly made at this time. Original Suicide Squad director David Ayer has, of course, moved on to do another DC project (Gotham City Sirens), hence the director’s chair vacancy.

Normally I’d say that Gibson’s recent statements about the DC superhero films (he’s not a fan) would make such discussions unlikely. After the similarly-negative Ridley Scott also being in the running for one of these DC films, however, it seems that anything goes these days with the Brothers Warner. No production timeline has been given for the previously-announced sequel, nor is there any word on a script for it. The studio could honestly be looking for a director before they even begin to lock in such things yet.

Will Gibson go for it? I can certainly see him taking such an offer seriously for a number of reasons. For one, given that the first one pulled around $745 million worldwide, chances are its follow-up will be another big hit. Such massive success would only further reignite Gibson’s career and afford him greater chances at big projects going forward. There’s also the possibility that Warner Bros. would offer him a studio deal, allowing him to get some directorial projects that he is more passionate about off the ground.

Still, there is his noted lack of enthusiasm about superhero films to date that is a roadblock, as is the fact that he likely wouldn’t have a large amount of creative control. He’s also a rather busy man these days. While he has yet to lock down his next directorial gig, Gibson has been lining up quite a few jobs as an actor recently. He just wrapped an historical drama with Sean Penn (The Professor and the Madman) recently, signed onto a crime thriller with Vince Vaughn, and is close to joining an upcoming comedy sequel. Furthermore, he’s been linked to the role of Cable in Deadpool 2 in recent months. At this point, however, he seems likely to pass on playing Cable, much like he passed on an offer to play Odin in Marvel’s Thor years ago.

Who knows where this will ultimately lead. DC Entertainment seems to be running their film division like a wild west show at this point, with guns blazing in all directions in the hopes that they’ll manage to hit something. Perhaps Suicide Squad 2 will actually find its mark, although I have my doubts. More as it develops.