'Suicide Squad 2' pushed back in favor of Margot Robbie's 'Birds of Prey'

Suicide Squad 2 was supposed to start shooting this fall, but it sounds like those plans have changed thanks to Margot Robbie's new Harley Quinn spinoff, Birds of Prey.

It was reported earlier today that Birds of Prey has a director and is expected to shoot by the end of the year. Because of that, Variety reporter Justin Kroll says Suicide Squad 2 is no longer shooting this year. Warner Bros. is hoping to get fans excited for Bargirl by introducing her in Birds of Prey, much like Marvel did with Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War.

As for SUICIDE SQUAD 2, clearly moving out of 2018 shoot. The move to go with BOP not only had a lot to do with Hodson's script but also the idea of doing with BATGIRL what Marvel did with Black Panther in CIVIL WAR by introducing them into universe before giving them own film
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) April 17, 2018

Suicide Squad 2 is being written and directed by Gavin O'Connor. For now, it sounds like it's been pushed aside in favor of Birds of Prey. Do you think that's the right call? Let me know in the comments below.

161 comments

Bruce Wayne

April 17, 2018

This before Green Lantern, Flash, Batman. Wow. Just wow.

FUN
April 18, 2018
It's called progress.
Ezee23
April 18, 2018
Who made this rule that the so called "big comic-book heroes" have to have their movies first?
Myron Kapetanakis
April 18, 2018
Is this point I doubt that we even get these movies.

Nahuel Benvenuto

April 17, 2018

sounds bad

Fubar

April 17, 2018

Warner just can't take the hint that they will not be able to duplicate what Marvel did. They tried and epically failed. Suicide Squad 2 would've been great since Zack Snyder is out of the picture. Oh well, on to the next...

Talia
April 18, 2018
Marvel never made a full female cast team up with a female director and female writer. If anything, they're trying something completely new.
Ezee23
April 18, 2018
To be fair, the DCEU has been pretty great at not doing what Marvel has done. That was the whole point.

BornAgainPCGamer

April 18, 2018

Ok so when is BoP set? If its after JL surely Barbara should be Oracle, not Batgirl. I'm ok with DC expanding the filmverse but it does beg the question of why none of these have been referenced before now. Surely Bruce could have used Oracle's help in BvS and JL.

Talia
April 18, 2018
From what I've read, they aren't maintaining exact continuity in the DCEU anymore. Aside from a few random cameos and references to other superheroes within the DC world, the stories will be almost completely independent from each other. Kinda like DC's current line up of animation.
1. BornAgainPCGamer
  April 18, 2018
  If thats true then imo that really sucks. DC have the rights to all their characters, they could make the most epic shared movie universe ever if it was done right.
  1. Talia
    April 18, 2018
    I agree, but it'd also be very complicated and take lots of coordination among filmmakers to sync, which also inevitably means taking away some creative control from directors and writers. They'd also never hear the end of the "DC is copying Marvel's formula" argument. At this point, I'd really rather they be doing their own thing.
    1. BornAgainPCGamer
      April 18, 2018
      They have all their characters from the dceu's very inception. What they lacked was good leadership and a clear vision. Marvel had got the head start, who cares if people said DC were copying marvel. It wouldnt have mattered if DC had still managed to do it better. I enjoyed the more grounded mature approach DC attempted but they didnt pull it off as well as they should have. They can still course correct and give us the DCEU we have been hoping for, it could be truely epic. It wont happen by accident, they need a vision and to stick to it. That's my ten cence on it anyway.
    2. Talia
      April 18, 2018
      BvS was just on the cusp of being an amazing movie if they'd simply expanded it into the length of 3 movies - an MoS2 political movie with short introduction to Batman, World's Finest where Supes and Bats figure each other out with short introduction to WW, then Death of Superman story arc introducing Doomsday. I really loved where they were going with the government questioning the danger of having a super powered alien walk around freely, and the public reacting in both anger and adoration. It's an aspect that was lightly covered in the Xmen series that I think made them the genre milestones that they are. If MoS2 had explored that theme fully, it would've been all that more impactful.
    3. BornAgainPCGamer
      April 19, 2018
      I agree with you that they should have followed through with the worlds reaction to the arrival of Superman. In my opinion the second movie should have been World's Finest, where we get introduced to Batman as he begins investigating Superman and also other meta-humans he could possibly recruit. We see Superman dealing with how the world is reacting to him but also by the end of the movie, he would have made his choice to be the beacon of hope the world needs. Batman would see this and realise Superman would be a far greater ally than an enemie.They come into contact and start to build their famous friendship but square of against an enemie like mettalo and wonder woman joins the fight. They decide to form the league at films end. Luther has other plans gets into the kryptonian ship and makes other plans. Then we get Wonder Woman movie. Then we get Justice League, a version were we recruit the full league and square off against steppenwolf and win. Then we get MoS2 where luther creates and releases doomsday and we get the true death of superman, where the league and the world are truelly devastated at his loss. Thats when Darkseid makes his plan to attack earth. Thats how i would have done phase one personally.
  2. nipple_pinchy
    April 18, 2018
    I don't think WB isn't structured to handle a persistent DC universe. Marvel Studios just makes superhero movies about Marvel characters. WB makes everything. WB is structured more loosely so you'll get movies all over the map in terms of quality and focus. Some are classics and some are dreck.
    I think WB will do what they do best with DC; they'll make self-contained stories featuring DC characters that only have superficial connective tissue at best with other DC movies, allowing for more narrative flexibility. That way if a Scorcese or Tarantino or Spielberg wants to make a DC movie, WB doesn't have to give them a list of continuity restrictions that they have to pay mind to based on movies they've made or movies that are in production.
    1. BornAgainPCGamer
      April 19, 2018
      Well then when they decided to make a DC filmverse, in my opinion they should have formed a seperate studio whose sole purpose was to manage and produce DC films. They should have set down and mapped out every movie for phase one at least. They should have had a clear vision and got writers who know and respect the source material involved. It hasnt been a complete disaster so far but they still need to turn a lot of things around. If they would only listen to the fans, I mean with the rights to all their characters, these films could nearly write themselves. The DCEU should be consistently made of epic spectacular movies. To settle for anything less is an insult to the fans and material.
    2. nipple_pinchy
      April 19, 2018
      >they should have formed a seperate studio whose sole purpose was to manage and produce DC films.
      I think they tried that, but the problem is that the people at the top were still orthodox movie studio people that don't know how to make superhero movies.
      Feige is successful with Marvel because he's a fan of the characters and stories, and on top of that he's a very, very solid movie producer. WB doesn't have anyone with that cachet. They have Johns who is a great comic book writer guy and they have plenty of great producers, but no one who is talented in both worlds.
      With WB and DC Films we have the classic fragmented executive power structures where everyone is looking to exploit the DC IPs, but they're not actually caring about the telling of great stories; they're looking for ways to market movies and not make them. This is why WB keeps announcing DC movies but can't actually follow through on most of them: they don't know how.
      If you're an "Artist-driven studio" you're essentially a farm filled with cats and you can't herd cats. It's a double-edged sword: with artists you can get amazing singularly pieces of art but you can't get 15 artists together and tell them to make something beautiful because they all want to make their own thing. Marvel Studios is like a bunch of puppies and Feige is the one with the food. Those puppies sit when they're told and beg when they're told and go where Feige wants and when.
      I think WB can make some amazing DC movies but they won't produce a persistent universe of consistently impressive movies. They're not structured to do so.
    3. BornAgainPCGamer
      April 19, 2018
      Fantastic response and again i agree with the majority of what you said. I do believe WB and DC films in its current form could not deliver a true DC filmverse that fans want. However Marvel studios didnt start out in its current iteration either if i recall. We could still get the DC studios we need to steer the franchise in the right direction. 90% of the casting has been on point and we have some brilliant directors involved now, all we need is people who understand the characters to write the stories and we will be onto a winner. Im really interested to see what Wan done with Aquaman and Reeves is sure to deliver something fantastic for his take on Batman.
    4. nipple_pinchy
      April 19, 2018
      I think WB can make great DC movies but I don't think it's possible for them to make episodic feature films the way Marvel Studios has. DC Films will have to engender a sense of trust in the audience by just making awesome, largely self-contained movies about DC characters. There can be loose connective tissue like certain characters having cameos in other movies but starting storylines in one movie and expecting other directors to take the baton and continue one, persistent storyline in their movie is something I don't think the kinds of directors WB wants to attract will be willing to do.
      I've always said that you can do a persistent universe or artist-driven but not both. WB has to either dictate from on high what the overall, long-term narrative is for the DCEU or just let artists take the characters and create the best movies possible with them. They're clearly not equipped to dictate so they need to have faith and cede authorial control of characters to the respective directors making movies about them.
    5. nipple_pinchy
      April 19, 2018
      >The DCEU should be consistently made of epic spectacular movies. To settle for anything less is an insult to the fans and material.
      I could not agree with you more. DC Films should be like classical fantasies like Lord of the Rings, only with superheroes, but WB as a studio doesn't understand the DC universe well enough to share visions of that universe with us in live-action films. They don't understand the magic of the characters so they can't transmute that magic into movie experiences.
    6. BornAgainPCGamer
      April 19, 2018
      Unfortunately i agree i dont think the execs at WB have a clue how to best produce the DC filmverse. All they have been concerned about is the financial gain to be made, little realising that DC has a huge tremendously loyal fanbase ready made. They would reap astronomical financial benefits if they showed respect for the source material and delivered well made epic movies. It has potential to eclipse anything Marvel has done thus far.
nipple_pinchy
April 18, 2018
There's only one Batgirl and her name is Barbara Gordon.
1. BornAgainPCGamer
  April 19, 2018
  Yes i agree but what i ment is if Bruce has been operating for over 20years, Barbara would have been shot and paralysed by know. She would be operating as Oracle.
  1. nipple_pinchy
    April 19, 2018
    They're not obligated to follow that storyline. Or if they have to, introduce Barbara into the DCEU as Batgirl and eventually tap the TKJ story a few years down the line, let us actually see Joker shooting her, having her transition into her Oracle role. It serves a lot of purposes: we get to see the classic Batgirl in her element making the audience care about her, then we see The Killing Joke story play out with Joker paralyzing her, making us hate him more, then intro a new Batgirl. It's something that can play out over 5-7 years.
    1. BornAgainPCGamer
      April 19, 2018
      I know they dont have to follow that storyline, however WB have deviated enough from the source material and its been largely to a negative reaction. Batman is nearing the end of his career by the looks of it in the DCEU, it stands to reason I think that the Joker would have shot Babs by now. I do agree though, that it would be better to start with Batgirl and see the reason she becomes Oracle. Their hands are kinda tied with starting with such an older Batman.

NinjaGamer13

April 18, 2018

When will pictures be released of the DCEU’s original superhero character, Bargirl?

Kaingerc
April 18, 2018
It will be just like Black Panther.
She comes from the far away country of BeerKanda, where the queen is selected by whoever can drink the most shots without passing out.
and, of course, this will be the theme for the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Praise Ogbalu

April 18, 2018

There can't be a Harley Quinn movie without The Joker. Remember DC.

Anon

April 18, 2018

WB playing to the gallery...not of the comic fans but the SJWs!

Ezee23
April 18, 2018
Huh??? These so called SJW's want DC movies too? I guess I'm a SJW then.

FUN

April 18, 2018

Obviously not ignorant sexists and male chauvinists like you.

Kaingerc

April 18, 2018

how DC comics movies are being produced:
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Ezee23

April 18, 2018

Huh??

Literally anything with a female lead or helmed by a woman and the usual keywords come out; feminism, agenda, SJW.

You guys are funny... and predictable.

nipple_pinchy
April 18, 2018
Your armor must be gleaming.

Qthetar .

April 18, 2018

BatGirl (Shailene Woodley)
Huntress (Phoebe Tonkin)
Black Canary (Gabriella Wilde)
Lady Blackhawk (Alexandra Daddario)
Harley Quinn (Margot)
Raven (Hailee Steinfeld) I know I know she was never part of Brids of Prey but could make the movie way more dynamic and interesting. Also could be used to introduce her before filming JLD. Or other movies who knows.

Daniel

April 18, 2018

"...the idea of doing with BATGIRL what Marvel did with Black Panther in CIVIL WAR by introducing them into universe before giving them own film..."

You mean like Snyder did with Wonder Woman before any of that? The contortions people go through to not give him credit for anything are kind of astonishing.

Smallgenie549

April 18, 2018

Bargirl

Frank

April 20, 2018

It seems better than the first plan. After this movie they can release Batgirl/Suicide Squad 2 and in another phase the Gotham City Sirens. It's too early for another "villain movie". Birds Of Prey can make a nice support for a lot of movies, including The Batman.

But, why he mentioned MCU? DC did a "introduction" of a great character in BvS with Wonder Woman, earlier than CW with Black Panther. Can you see? The media lives for MCU, it's so stupid.

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'Suicide Squad 2' pushed back in favor of Margot Robbie's 'Birds of Prey'

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