Mel Gibson to Direct “Suicide Squad” Sequel?

By Reggie's Take on February 16, 2017

After Suicide Squad bombed with critics if not nuked it still managed to earn $745 million worldwide and now Warner Brothers is looking at someone who was once considered a lethal weapon to direct the sequel.

Mel Gibson has had a fulfilling if not interesting career in front and behind the camera and after a drunk driving arrest and anti-Semitic comments Hollywood wasn’t ringing Gibson’s phone with job offers.

According to THR, Warner Brothers is in early talks with the actor/director to possibly direct “Suicide Squad 2”. No official offer or commitment have been made, but Mr. Gibson is familiarizing himself with the material. Gibson of course is enjoying some much-needed success with his Oscar-nominated movie “Hacksaw Ridge” that he directed and is up for best director.

Despite what he’s done away from the camera Mel Gibson seems to do some of his best work when he’s behind the camera directing. Gibson won an Academy Award for Braveheart, found extraordinary success with The Passion of the Christ, and his dark and very violent Mayan film Apocalypto was met with a positive critical response.

Let’s not be fooled though. In the past Mr. Gibson has been very vocal and very critical of superhero films in the past even going as far as to call “Batman v Superman” a piece of shit, saying.

“I’m not interested in the stuff. Do you know what the difference between real superheroes and comic-book superheroes is? Real superheroes didn’t wear spandex. So I don’t know. Spandex must cost a lot. I look at them and scratch my head. I’m really baffled by it. I think there’s a lot of waste, but maybe if I did one of those things with the green screens I’d find out different, it seems to me that you could do it for less… You’re spending outrageous amounts of money, $180 million or more, I don’t know how you make it back after the tax man gets you, and after you give half to the exhibitors.”

David Ayer, who directed the first movie, is developing “Gotham City Sirens” that will focus on the female villains of the DC Universe. Suicide Squad introduced movie audiences to Deadshot, The Joker, Harley Quinn, Rick Flagg, El Diablo, Killer Croc, who must go to work for the government in exchange for lighter sentences.

Reggie’s Take:
Is this a good move or a bad move by Warner Brothers if they do indeed hire Mr. Gibson? Who knows to be honest?

I watched “Suicide Squad” in theaters and the movie was okay in my book. It wasn’t the greatest superhero movie, but at the same time it wasn’t the worst either. The worst still goes to the 2015 Fantastic Four movie, sorry Fox.

With Ben Affleck now out as director of the solo Batman movie and rumors of him wanting out all together and the Flash movie being re-written yet again and I believe looking for another director, hiring Mel Gibson as a director for the Suicide Squad sequel or any project in the DCEU could be a good move.

My favorite superhero of all time is Batman. I’ve collected Batman comics off and on for the last twenty years and the one thing I would love to see is Warner Brothers and DC begin to have success at the theaters both financially and critically.

Mel Gibson may have done and said something’s in his past, but regardless of those mistakes he seems to know his stuff when directing a movie. If Warner Brothers gives Mr. Gibson the room and freedom to make a Suicide Squad movie his way and still have it fit continuity wise within the DCEU then I say let him go for it if indeed he’s offered the job.