Producer Says James Gunn's "Total Reboot" Of 'Suicide Squad' Is The Director's "Priority" & Will Hopefully End "Absurd" DC/Marvel Rivalry

Last week, the world of Marvel Studios experienced some massive news. First, there was the runaway success of “Captain Marvel” at the box office. Then, the studio decided to drop a surprise trailer for the little film, “Avengers: Endgame.” And finally, the week was capped off with the revelation that James Gunn was re-hired as the director of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.” Needless to say, the MCU was a busy place. But in all the excitement, particularly with that last bit of news, we have to remember that James Gunn has some obligations before rejoining the ‘Guardians’ film, specifically another superhero film, “The Suicide Squad.”

And in a recent interview with JoBlo, DCEU producer Peter Safran talked about the Gunn news and why it’s not just exciting for Marvel fans, but also those hoping to see the silly “rivalry” between DC and Marvel to die down. But first, Safran explained how there’s nothing but synergy between Warner Bros. and Disney, with how the Gunn situation was handled.

READ MORE: James Gunn Reinstated As The Director Of Marvel Studios’ ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3’ 

“No, it was all handled incredibly elegantly and everybody knows on both sides that ‘Suicide Squad’ is the priority today and he’ll finish that movie and then everybody knows that his next film will be ‘Guardians.’ It’s the best of all possible both worlds, I think, for fans and for James Gunn himself,” said Safran.

And considering “The Suicide Squad” is the next film that Gunn is tackling, with filming expected to begin later this year, the producer wants everyone to know that this isn’t a sequel to the David Ayer 2016 film. Nope, it’s a “total reboot.” (Side note: I went on a bit of a rant about this idea of WB “rebooting” its films instead of calling them sequels. Read and enjoy!)

READ MORE: ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Producer Says Film Is “Not A Sequel” But That Is Just Silly Word Play

He explained, “First of all, we don’t call it ‘Suicide Squad 2’ ‘cause it’s a total reboot, so it’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ and I think people should be extremely excited about it. It’s everything you would hope from a James Gunn script and I think that says a lot and that promises a lot and I know that we will deliver a lot.”

Safran says that the news around Gunn directing a film for WB and a film for Disney is nothing but good news for those of us that are sick of the DC vs. Marvel debate.

READ MORE: ‘The Suicide Squad’: Here Are The Characters Reportedly Joining Idris Elba’s Deadshot In James Gunn’s DC Film

“And you know what I love about James directing for both Marvel and DC is he has always espoused the view that that which unites comic book and superhero lovers is much greater than that which divides us,” said Safran. “Because, there’s always been this Marvel/DC rivalry, which he has said, and I agree, is absurd. There’s room for everybody and certainly that which unites us all is far greater than that which divides us, so hopefully they’ll see that you can be both a Marvel and a DC fan and the world won’t spin off its axis.”

“The Suicide Squad” is expected to hit theaters on August 6, 2021. That would put ‘Guardians 3’ sometime in 2022 or later.