“Superman” is a bona fide hit, and DC Studios comes out of the gate swinging hard. DC exec and “Superman” filmmaker James Gunn already has a “Super” family sequel of sorts in the works, and the second season of his “Peacemaker” series is about to hit HBO Max later this month.
So what’s next? Well, apart from a “Green Lanterns” series, and a “Supergirl” and “Clayface” movie, Gunn has been thinking about some of the characters of his 2021 “The Suicide Squad” movie.
In a recent Entertainment Weekly interview, Gunn was asked about plans for some of his surviving ‘Suicide Squad’ characters, and the main one that came to mind was the character that arguably replaced Will Smith’s similarly-toned Deadshot character.
“I definitely am always looking for a place to put Bloodsport and figuring that out,” Gunn says of Idris Elba’s merciless mercenary from the 2021 sequel and finding a movie or TV show to stick the character in. “So we’ll see what happens.”
But of course, with Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash and other characters being rebooted, what remains of the fate of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn?
“That will be revealed down the line,” Gunn told the outlet.
Given Gunn’s penchant for rebooting characters, his coy response reads like a no to me, but we shall see what that truly means, hopefully soon.
One consideration could be the budget. When Robbie first landed the role in 2016, she was a rising star, but by 2018, she had landed her first Oscar nomination (“I, Tonya”). Now, Robbie is a three-time Oscar nominee, and it doesn’t feel like the growing trend will change soon.
Robbie has portrayed Harley Quinn in three films: 2016’s “Suicide Squad,” 2020’s “Birds of Prey,” and 2021’s “The Suicide Squad.” But we’ve already seen different versions of Harley Quinn. Last year, Lady Gaga portrayed a different take on the character in “Joker: Folie à Deux,” starring Joaquin Phoenix.
Gunn, also made headlines lately, by saying while delayed, the Amanda Waller series starring Viola Davis is on the way (“I can’t wait to see Viola Davis get her Amanda Waller outfits on”) and his sequel to “Superman”—in whatever form it takes, likely an indirect one— has a complete treatment will likely go into production, “hopefully not too far away from today.”
Gunn also teased that “Peacemaker” season two may hold clues to the direction DC is heading towards. “If people watch the next season of ‘Peacemaker,’ they’ll see where many of these things are going.”
Lastly, if you’re wondering why “Superman” is hitting HBO Max so soon, next Friday, August 22, despite still being a consistent winner at the box office, Gunn revealed his reasoning in a recent Screenrant interview.
“Well, it’s very complicated, but the truth is it is because of ‘Peacemaker.’ I originally thought ‘Peacemaker’ was going to be coming out next month,” he explained. “There were a lot of things that are beyond our control, so that Peacemaker is coming out now, and, at the end of the day, I wanted everyone to be able to see ‘Superman’ that they wanted to, even those people who couldn’t get to a theater before ‘Peacemaker.’ And that’s really the reason for it.”
Next up for DC Studios is “Supergirl” starring Milly Alcock, in summer 2026 and “Lanterns” also sometime in the same frame.
