‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3,’ ‘The Suicide Squad’ Won’t Be Delayed, Says James Gunn
By Jordan Moreau
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – James Gunn, director of the upcoming third “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie and “The Suicide Squad,” said that neither movie will be affected by delays during the coronavirus pandemic.
Answering fans’ questions on his Twitter account, Gunn said that the new “Suicide Squad” film for Warner Bros. and DC Comics is moving along as planned for its release on Aug. 6, 2021.
“Right now there’s no reason for ‘The Suicide Squad’ release date to move. We are on or ahead of schedule. We were extremely fortunate to wrap shooting and set up editing from our homes (due to a post production team and studio with foresight) before quarantine,” Gunn said.
Then, Gunn gave a similar update on “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which does not have a release date yet.
“Right now the plans with ‘Vol. 3’ are also exactly the same as they were before coronavirus,” he said.
The upcoming slate of Marvel Cinematic Universe films has been shifted due to coronavirus shutting down production throughout the film industry. “Black Widow” was pushed from May to November, creating a domino effect of delays for “The Eternals,” “Shang-Chi,” “Doctor Strange 2” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.” “Black Panther 2” and “Captain Marvel 2” are scheduled for the first half of 2022.
James Gunn was originally fired by Disney from the “Guardians” movie over controversial tweets from years ago, then was re-hired. The back-and-forth pushed back development on the film, and Gunn was hired by Warner Bros. to helm “The Suicide Squad” in the meantime. He agreed to shoot “Guardians” after the DC Comics movie is done.
Not much is known about “The Suicide Squad,” other than it’s a standalone sequel to 2016’s widely-panned “Suicide Squad.” Returning cast members include Margot Robbie, Viola Davis and Joel Kinnaman, and the star-studded group of newcomers include Idris Elba, John Cena, Taika Waititi and Nathan Fillion.
Gunn said he and the film’s editors are successfully working from home, but the first images or a trailer for “The Suicide Squad” are still not quite done.
