It was annihilated by the critics, but 2016’s Suicide Squad proved to be another DC Extended Universe box office hit. The bad guys’ first outing earned $745 million worldwide, $325 million of which was made in the US ($133 million came in during the opening weekend). So the announcement that a second Suicide Squad would follow was no great surprise.

To some degree, it was surprising that David Ayer dropped out to write and direct the upcoming Gotham City Sirens movie, especially since he had said that he'd return to make an R-rated sequel. But that’s a different story.

Although Warner Bros. has announced a number of projects, they’ve been slow to set release dates for them. Suicide Squad 2 is no exception, but rumor has it that it will be released in 2019. The Batman-centric Gotham City Sirens and Batgirl happen to be scheduled for release that same year.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Joel Kinnaman (who portrayed Rick Flag in the David Ayer-directed Suicide Squad) said that he's certain that his character will return. He added that the plan is for filming to take place in 2018:

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.

The actor made another interesting comment:

It would be really interesting to see these crazy characters interact with regular people, as well.

But this would defeat the purpose of even having a Suicide Squad, which is intended to be a super-secret team that fights bad guys.

However, Kinnaman could be onto something, especially in regard to the sequel’s villain. Writer Adam Cozad (The Legend of Tarzan) might choose someone less over-powered than Enchantress and her brother. Maybe he'll go for someone whose skills match those of the Suicide Squad members, like Bane.

What do you think?