When is Suicide Squad 2 coming out? Release date, director, cast, more

An interview with James Gunn has given fans an insight into DC’s The Suicide Squad movie, prompting former director David Ayer to speak up about where 2016’s version went wrong. Here’s everything we know so far.

Though the first Suicide Squad was undeniably a financial success, making over $746 million at the worldwide box office, fans weren’t too happy with the movie’s storyline, editing, or Jared Leto’s take on the Joker.

Four years on, and a second Suicide Squad is in post-production, preparing for its release – can this redeem the first movie’s failures?

When will Suicide Squad 2 release?

The Suicide Squad is set for release on August 6, 2021. That is if there are no delays caused by the ongoing health crisis, which has already seen countless new releases pushed back.

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Despite the first movie still causing divides among fans, The Suicide Squad has got a lot of people excited to find out what’s to come.

Who will be directing?

The Suicide Squad is set to be a fresh take on the group, with James Gunn in the director’s seat.

Gunn recently spoke to Empire about the project, defending the director of the first movie, David Ayer, after he faced criticism: “Listen, David Ayer’s gotten trouble for the movie… I know it didn’t come out how David wanted it to come out.”

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Ayer has since gone on to tweet about his experience directing Suicide Squad, explaining that the first 40 minutes of his movie had been cut.

It has since been rumored that Ayer could potentially be getting to re-release the movie, much like Zack Snyder’s Justice League. However, that may depend on the Snyder Cut’s success on HBO Max.

Though it didn’t come out exactly as he’d hoped, the casting of Suicide Squad is something Gunn has praised Ayer for. He’s built on this for his movie, keeping some fan favorites from the original while also introducing some new characters.

The Suicide Squad cast and plot

There’s a huge line-up for The Suicide Squad, with a few familiar faces making their return, including Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller.

They will be joined by some other big names, varying from Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, and John Cena as Peacemaker.

Warner Bros. released a roll call for fans to get a first glimpse at the growing team.

It was recently revealed that Sylvester Stallone will also be joining the cast, having already started filming for his mystery role. On a now-deleted Instagram video, Stallone said that the movie was ‘unbelievable’ and would be ‘well worth the wait’.

Gunn shared this post on social media, welcoming the legendary actor and praising him for his work.

There’s one extra person who will be making an appearance too, according to Gunn, and that’s the original creator.

If that wasn’t exciting enough, Empire has also released some exclusive images from the movie, including the one below.

From left to right we have David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, John Cena as Peacemaker, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, and Daniela Melchoir as Ratcatcher 2.

Who is playing the Joker?

In 2016’s Suicide Squad, Jared Leto took on the role of the Joker, but saw a mostly negative response from fans.

Though most of the other characters from 2016’s version will be returning, Gunn has confirmed that the Joker won’t be making an appearance at all.

This is understandable following on from Birds of Prey, as the character no longer has much relevance to the narrative.

As well as this, Gunn has explained that in the comics the Joker isn’t really involved with the group anyway.

The Suicide Squad will not be a sequel as such to the 2016 movie, nor a remake. Instead, it’s expected to be ‘its own thing’, according to Gunn.

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As the announcements keep coming, in the lead up to the second movie, it’ll be interesting to see the potential each of the new characters have, either for future small-screen appearances or more movies.

A Peacemaker spin-off series is already being developed by HBO Max, and it’s only a matter of time before other characters get the same opportunity.

Until then, fans have an eager wait until August 2021, when we’ll finally get to see Gunn’s take on The Suicide Squad.