Warner Bros. Courts Mel Gibson to Direct ‘Suicide Squad’ Sequel

Mel Gibson is mulling joining the DC Extended Universe … as a director.

Warner Bros. is courting the actor-director to helm Suicide Squad 2 and the sides are early in talks, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. No official offer has been made nor has any commitment.

Sources say that Gibson is familiarizing himself with the material. But the studio is not being passive and is also looking at other directors, Daniel Espinosa among them.

David Ayer directed the initial outing, which featured an all-star cast that included Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto. The 2016 movie faced some hurdles during production and was met with somewhat polarizing response, but grossed $745 million worldwide, enough to put a sequel on the fast-track.

Ayer is now developing Gotham City Sirens, a project that reunites him with Robbie and focuses on the female villains of the DC Universe.

Suicide Squad told the story of such villains as Deadshot, Harley Quinn, the Joker, Captain Boomerang and Killer Croc, who are forced into the service of the government in exchange for lighter sentences.

The fact that Gibson, riding high thanks to his Oscar-nominated war movie Hacksaw Ridge, is being courted by Warners marks a remarkable turnaround for the actor-director. His image took a hit in the 2000s after a drunk driving arrest and anti-Semitic comments, and he found himself losing studio work.

Gibson did nab a cameo in The Hangover: Part II — a movie made by Warner Bros. — but a backlash within the studio and parts of the cast ended with him being unceremoniously dropped.

But Hacksaw Ridge is seen as a major turning point for Gibson. His biopic of conscientious objector Desmond Doss nabbed six Oscar nominations, including one for Gibson for best director, and has made $164 million worldwide to date.

He now finds himself fielding a slew of offers, both from studios and indies. He is in talks to join Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg for Paramount’s Daddy’s Home 2, and is reteaming with Hacksaw Ridge actor Vince Vaughn for gritty crime indie Dragged Across Concrete.

Gibson is repped by CAA.

Source: hollywoodreporter.com