‘Suicide Squad’: Gavin O’Connor Reveals Why His DC Project Fell Through

Gavin O'Connor previously directed Warrior and The Accountant.

Suicide Squad David Ayer Gavin O'Connor David Ayer

Gavin O’Connor has revealed why his Suicide Squad sequel didn’t see the light of day at DC.

Before James Gunn was brought on board to correct the course of the Suicide Squad franchise, DC was courting Gavin O’Connor to helm the sequel. O’Connor seemed like a no-brainer considering his extensive resume of character-driven action films had been both critical and commercial successes. Plans with Warrior director eventually fell through, and DC opted to spring for Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn after he had been let go by Marvel.

With Gunn’s take on the raunchy DC team now out, fans have been wondering what Gavin O’Connor’s version of the sequel would have looked like? Would it have been as pulpy and hilarious? Probably not, as O’Connor revealed to The Playlist that he ditched the film because the brass over at Warner Bos. wanted a comedy.

“What happened there was I wrote a deal to write a script, and they knew what I was writing. At that level, with those kinds of movies, with that budget, no one’s just going off and writing something without walking them through what the movie’s gonna be, and everyone was cool with it.”

“During the latter part of writing the script there was a whole regime change at DC, and when that happened, they wanted it to be a comedy, and I’m like, ‘I’m not writing a comedy,’ I mean, it [was] fun, but it’s not a yuk-fest. And the new regime wanted a different movie than I was writing.”

Warner Bros. notoriously changed the direction of the DC Extended Universe after critics and fans criticized films like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for their dark nature and themes. Once the brass at the studio changed, light-hearted DC fare like Wonder Woman, Shazam!, and Aquaman began to be pumped out. While it’s a shame that Gavin O’Connor’s take on Task Force X never came into fruition, we’ll be grateful that we at least have James Gunn’s irreverent take on some of DC’s wackiest characters.

Here is the synopsis for The Suicide Squad:

Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission, with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.

Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad stars Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Pete Davidson, Nathan Fillion, Sean Gunn, Flula Borg, Mayling Ng, Tinashe Kajese, Steve Agee, Jennifer Holland, Alice Braga, Juan Diego Botto, Joaquin Cosio, Storm Reid, and Taika Waititi.

The Suicide Squad is out now in theatres and HBO Max. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the future of The Suicide Squad and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.

Source: The Playlist