Some time ago, Warner Bros. confirmed that Suicide Squad 2 was among the numerous DC Extended Universe titles they had in development. They added that David Ayer would direct, but then Ayer announced that he had signed on to direct the Gotham City Sirens spin-off rather than the Suicide Squad sequel. Once that announcement was made, everyone began to speculate about who would take the director’s place. A number of names were mentioned, and even Mel Gibson confirmed that he’d met with the studio about the film.

Multiple outlets recently reported that the studio has finally sealed a deal with director Gavin O’Connor, who’s now getting ready to bring Deadshot and his cohorts to life in Suicide Squad 2! And that’s not all! O’Connor was also hired to write the script.

O'Connor’s most recent directorial efforts included The Accountant (starring Ben Affleck) and Jane Got a Gun (starring Natalie Portman), neither of which impressed critics. But he proved himself to be a highly capable director with the movie Warrior, which starred Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton.

Suicide Squad 2 still lacks a completed script, so we have no information about the plot or any cast members who might reprise their original roles. Deadshot and Harley Quinn were the last film’s MVPs, so we do expect Will Smith and Margot Robbie to return in those roles.

According to various reports, shooting for Suicide Squad 2 has been delayed until late 2018 due to Will Smith’s full schedule. The actor just started principal photography for Aladdin, and will then move on to Ang Lee's Gemini Man.

The delay could actually be a good thing, since O'Connor will have plenty of time to improve on Ayer’s script (Reportedly, Ayer only had a couple of weeks to devote to the first Suicide Squad).