This weekend, Wonder Woman has helped breathe new life in to the DCEU, the expanded cinematic superhero universe created by Warner Bros and DC Comics after a less-than-spectacular start last year. Through its global opening, the Patty Jenkins-directed film grossed over $223million worldwide and is set to top the weekend again come Sunday.
It’s a great result for both the studios given the reactions, both critically and from audiences, to their two previous efforts, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. Both were hits in terms of box office ($872.7million and $745.6million respectively) but there’s some work to do to realign the franchise in the eyes on the fans. WB are still pressing ahead with their films, including Justice League, Aquaman and Batgirl amongst others but one that seems to also be on the radar is a Suicide Squad sequel.
David Ayer, who wrote and directed the first film, isn’t confirmed to return for the sequel, nor is any other the cast, but star Joel Kinnaman has said this week that a potential shooting date may have already been confirmed. The House of Cards star, who played Rick Flagg in the film, said there has been talk of a 2018 start date for the follow-up:
“As far as I know they’re writing the script and I think the plan is to shoot it sometime in 2018, but that could change. I think I’ll definitely come back for it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. And while he is keen to return, he hopes Ayer follows suit but that’s not set in stone yet.
He continued:
“Ultimately, I’d love for David Ayer to direct it, but if he doesn’t want to direct it then someone who is great with character and that’s able to ground the story and maybe put these characters in a more normal situation. It would be really interesting to see these crazy characters interact with regular people as well,”
Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Cara Delevingne, Freddie Rodriguez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne starred in the first film, which is out now on Blu-ray and DVD.
