'Suicide Squad 2' News: Production to Commence in October 2018
"Suicide Squad 2" is expected to commence production late next year.
According to a new report from the Omega Underground, the sequel to the highly-criticized 2016 DC film is set to begin shooting in October 2018. The date is apparently the result of the film trying to adjust to Will Smith's schedule. Smith portrayed Deadshot in "Suicide Squad," and he is set to reprise his role for the sequel. However, the actor is currently busy filming "Gemini Man," which is not scheduled to wrap up production until July of next year.
The October 2018 production start date corroborates a tweet made by Variety's Justin Kroll in August earlier this year. Kroll revealed that "Suicide Squad 2" would not begin shooting until fall of next year due to Smith's other commitments. It also supports Margot Robbie's revelation that she will be busy filming a DC movie in 2018.
Robbie, who is set to reprise her role as Harley Quinn, was arguably the best part of "Suicide Squad." As a result, she is set to portray the character in three other films, including "Gotham City Sirens" and an untitled film focusing on Harley Quinn and Joker. There is also going to be a standalone Harley Quinn movie, which Robbie described as "totally separate" from the other DC films.
"I've been working on a separate spin-off for Harley for a while now," Robbie told MTV in an interview in late November.
Unfortunately, David Ayer will not be returning to the director's chair for the upcoming "Suicide Squad" sequel. Instead, Gavin O'Connor will be helming the film and writing the script for it. Zach Penn previously produced a draft of the script.
There is also some talk of making "Suicide Squad 2" R-rated. The decision would not come as a surprise since other R-rated superhero films like "Deadpool" and "Logan" were received tremendously well, both critically and commercially.
Apart from "Suicide Squad 2," two other DC films are going into production in 2018. "Shazam!" begins filming on Feb. 5, while "Wonder Woman 2" is set to commence shooting in June.