Just hours after a rumor began to circulate that Mel Gibson was being considered to helm the upcoming Suicide Squad 2, the Academy Award winning director confirmed it to be true. During a Q&A at a screening of his Oscar nominated film Hacksaw Ridge at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, the moderator asked Gibson “So is this getting close to a deal or is it a first date?” Gibson’s reply was “It’s kind of a first date.”
Variety is reporting that Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), Daniel Espinosa (Safe House), and Jonathan Levine (Warm Bodies) are also being considered for the gig. If Gibson were to get the job, it would be his first directing job for a major studio since 1995’s Braveheart. It would also mean Gibson would be eating his words, as he recently slammed the superhero film genre, specifically, Suicide Squad’s sister film Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. This is what he told Deadline back in November:
“I look at them and scratch my head. I’m really baffled by it. I think there’s a lot of waste but maybe if I did one of those things with the green screens I’d find out different. I don’t know. Maybe they do cost that much. I don’t know. It seems to me that you could do it for less. If you’re spending outrageous amounts of money, $180 million or more, I don’t know how you make it back after the tax man gets you, and after you give half to the exhibitors. What did they spend on Batman v Superman that they’re admitting to? And it’s a piece of shit. I’m not interested in the stuff. Do you know what the difference between real superheroes and comic book superheroes is? Real superheroes didn’t wear spandex. So I don’t know. Spandex must cost a lot.”
It would be interesting to see how Gibson handles film like Suicide Squad, given his disdain for the genre.