The Suicide Squad (film)

James Gunn, writer and director of The Suicide Squad

In March 2016, ahead of the release of Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. Pictures announced a sequel was in development. David Ayer and Will Smith were respectively attached to reprise their roles as director and Deadshot, and filming was on track to begin in 2017 after the pair completed work on Bright.[14][15] The following month, Ayer expressed an interest in making the sequel R-rated,[16] but by December had exited in favor of directing Gotham City Sirens.[17] Warner Bros. entered negotiations with Mel Gibson to direct shortly afterwards,[18] but he passed after production delays.[19] Daniel Espinosa, Jonathan Levine, and Ruben Fleischer were also under consideration.[18][20] In March 2017, The Legend of Tarzan writer Adam Cozad was hired to write the screenplay. The Suicide Squad sequel was said to be a priority for Warner Bros., with a focus on coming up with a story.[21]

Warner Bros.' top choice to direct was Jaume Collet-Serra, but he passed in favor of Disney's Jungle Cruise because he did not like the idea of continuing a story another director started.[22][23] David S. Goyer was also considered to direct the film.[24] In July, Zak Penn pitched a new story treatment and had begun a new draft as a favor for the studio.[19][25] At San Diego Comic-Con that month, the film was officially titled Suicide Squad 2.[26] By August, Jared Leto was set to reprise his role as the Joker from the first film,[27] and Variety reported production would not begin until late 2018 because of Smith's production schedule on Aladdin and Gemini Man.[28] In September, Gavin O'Connor was hired to direct and co-write the film with Warrior screenwriter Anthony Tambakis.[29][30] Michael De Luca joined the project as producer alongside Charles Roven.[31] O'Connor brought in David Bar Katz and Todd Stashwick to co-write the screenplay in June 2018,[32] which was finished in September and featured the Suicide Squad attempting to track down Black Adam.[33][34] According to Variety's Justin Kroll, O'Connor's script was too similar to the one for Birds of Prey, which Warner Bros. gave a green light to first. Frustrated, O'Connor withdrew from the project in favor of The Way Back.[35]

Months earlier, in July 2018, The Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios dismissed James Gunn from directing the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after conservative commentators began circulating old controversial tweets surrounding topics such as rape and pedophilia.[36] As a result, Warner Bros. immediately became interested in recruiting him to direct a DC Extended Universe film,[37][38] and offered him a number of properties, including Superman.[39] Gunn chose the Suicide Squad sequel, and by the time he completed his exit settlement with Disney and Marvel in October, Warner Bros. hired him to write the screenplay and potentially direct.[40][41] Ayer supported the decision, saying that Gunn's hiring was a "brave and smart move" by Warner Bros. and calling him "the right man for the job",[42] while fellow Guardians of the Galaxy alumnus Dave Bautista expressed interest in appearing in the film.[35]

By January 2019, Gunn had been hired to direct and Warner Bros. retitled the film The Suicide Squad, with production set to start in September for a scheduled August 6, 2021 release date.[43][44] Charles Roven and Peter Safran were also attached to produce.[45] Safran stated the film was retitled "because it's a total reboot ... It's everything you would hope from a James Gunn script and I think that says a lot and that promises a lot and I know that we will deliver a lot."[38] Although Disney had reinstated Gunn as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 by March, production for that film would not begin until he completed his work on The Suicide Squad.[46]

In February 2019, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Smith would not be reprising his role as Deadshot from the first film due to scheduling conflicts.[47] Gunn met with Idris Elba to discuss replacing him, which "went so swimmingly that talks began with the studio in earnest." Elba, who was the only choice of Gunn and Warner Bros., signed on to portray Deadshot in March.[48] However, by April Gunn and Warner Bros. had decided to have Elba portray a different character, which would enable Smith to return in a future film.[2] At that time, Viola Davis and Margot Robbie had been confirmed to return as Amanda Waller and Harley Quinn,[2][3] while Jai Courtney announced he would be reprising his role as Captain Boomerang in an interview.[6] The involvement of Joel Kinnaman, who portrayed Rick Flag in the first film, was initially unclear,[48] but he was set to return by July.[4] Leto's involvement was also unclear,[38] and unlike Kinnaman he was not expected to appear by September.[49]

At this point, production of The Suicide Squad was set to begin after Robbie finished her work on Birds of Prey.[50] The Suicide Squad was described as a new take on the property rather than a direct sequel to the 2016 film.[7] Unlike Ayer, who was primarily inspired by the New 52 Suicide Squad comics, Gunn drew inspiration from the 1980s comics by John Ostrander and Kim Yale.[51] As such, Gunn decided to focus more on characters who were not introduced in Suicide Squad, such as a female version of the Ratcatcher, Polka-Dot Man, King Shark, and Peacemaker.[7][52] Gunn was said to be considering casting Bautista as Peacemaker,[52] though this could not happen due to scheduling conflicts.[53] In April, David Dastmalchian and Daniela Melchior were cast as Polka-Dot Man and Ratcatcher, respectively.[7][8] John Cena entered talks for an unspecified role.[54] In July, Storm Reid joined the cast, while Cena's involvement was confirmed.[4] In August, Flula Borg and Nathan Fillion were cast in an undisclosed roles,[10][11] and Steve Agee was hired to voice King Shark,[9] with Taika Waititi entering negotiations to join in an unspecified role.[55] In September, Peter Capaldi joined the cast, and Pete Davidson entered negotiations for a cameo.[12] The remainder of the cast was confirmed later in the month.[13]

Principal photography began on September 20, 2019, at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.[12][56] Filming in Atlanta was expected to last three months before transitioning to Panama for a month.[57] Joel Kinnaman described the film as a comedy.[58] Filming wrapped on February 28, 2020.[59]

In April 2020, Gunn confirmed that he was editing the film at his home and that the COVID-19 pandemic hadn't affected the film's post-production and release date at that time.[60]