Earlier this year, James Gunn became a subject of controversy and debate when he was fired from the planned Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for offensive tweets written prior to his involvement with Disney. So while plenty see it as a sign of progress for the DCEU that the filmmaker has been hired to script and possibly even direct Suicide Squad 2, others are understandably not too pleased with the idea.
This is evident in the variety of responses seen on Twitter, which range from ecstatic to outraged. On the one hand, you have fans who are happy about this development, or at least feel that you’ve got to hand it to Warner Bros. for snagging James Gunn for what many see as the DCEU’s answer to Guardians.
https://twitter.com/FreddyInSpace/status/1049731930000957440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1049731930000957440&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fheroichollywood.com%2Fjames-gunn-suicide-squad-reaction%2F
James Gunn writing and (possibly) directing #SuicideSquad 2? Holy shit. You fucked up, Marvel…
— Josh Wilding (@Josh_Wilding) October 9, 2018
CAST 👏 @DAVEBAUTISTA 👏 AS 👏 SOLOMON 👏 GRUNDY 👏
and put him in @JamesGunn's Suicide Squad 2: Twoicide Squad pic.twitter.com/UqejgTL6S1
— Dan Casey (@DanCasey) October 9, 2018
I will forever want to see James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The franchise is one of my favorites, ever, but I'm tremendously excited to see him make an amazing DC Comics movie.
— BD (@BrandonDavisBD) October 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/Acidic_Heart/status/1049733960123785217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1049733960123785217&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fheroichollywood.com%2Fjames-gunn-suicide-squad-reaction%2F
DC snagging James Gunn to make the sequel to the movie they made to rip off his movie is an incredible power move
— Dan Sheehan (@ItsDanSheehan) October 9, 2018
At the same time, other users were more skeptical, if not outright furious in their responses.
That feeling when james gun might wirte Suicide Squad 2 but it also means he might fix the dceu.#dceu #JamesGunn pic.twitter.com/itzKOePxxX
— xolta (@xolta11) October 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/ima_sebstan/status/1049738364256210944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1049738364256210944&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fheroichollywood.com%2Fjames-gunn-suicide-squad-reaction%2F
https://twitter.com/GOODBYEMYSON/status/1049741421346004992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1049741421346004992&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fheroichollywood.com%2Fjames-gunn-suicide-squad-reaction%2F
https://twitter.com/newsflxsh/status/1049737241684267009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1049737241684267009&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fheroichollywood.com%2Fjames-gunn-suicide-squad-reaction%2F
If James Gunn comes anywhere near Suicide Squad 2, I won't be. Just making that clear now.
— Stemot (@Stemot1978) October 9, 2018
Regardless of where you stand on Disney’s decision to fire Gunn, the Guardians writer-director certainly seems well-suited to the material of Suicide Squad. And in light of a new report that the project could be more of a reboot than a straightforward sequel, it looks like Gunn may have the creative freedom to apply his own vision to the characters. That being said, David Ayer recently lamented how the first film’s final version was vastly different from its original cut, so there’s no guarantee that DC won’t do what they do best here and tamper.
In any case, while it could be a long wait until Suicide Squad 2 makes it to screens, it’s clear that Gunn’s divisive reputation isn’t going away anytime soon.