Taking the first crack at Warner Bros. follow-up to David Ayer's Suicide Squad will be a relative newcomer to the scene who has only seen two of his feature scripts go to production: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and The Legend of Tarzan. Those weren't terrible movies; their greatest sin was just that they were straight-up boring. However, Suicide Squad 2 is a major priority for WB, so there's a very good chance that the final script will not be a solo credit for screenwriter Adam Cozad, but rather a script by committee.
THR reports that Warner Bros. is in negotiations with Cozad for screenwriting duties saying that the studio is focused on nailing down the sequel's story before finalizing a choice for a director. No, Ayer will not be back behind the camera for this one, opting to lend his skills to Gotham City Sirens instead, a movie that reteams him with Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie. The studio's pick to replace him? Mel Gibson, among other contenders.
But while Gibson's involvement in the picture remains unconfirmed, I'd be amazed if Ayer didn't have some sort of stake in the sequel, if only as a producer. He expended quite a bit of effort putting the first film together the way he wanted it, so to see him hand all of that over to a relatively green writer without much of a fuss seems a bit strange. It's either a studio mandate (if they're taking the Skwad in a new direction), an earnest focus on Gotham City Sirens for Ayer, or just the first step in a pre-production process that will allow Ayer to take a look at Cozad's script once a draft is in. I'm banking on the latter.
Cozad does have another screenwriting effort in the works, the sci-fi actioner Underwater. Pitched as an underwater Armageddon, the script centers on an underwater scientific crew that is forced to go on dangerous journey for survival after experiencing an earthquake. Kristen Stewart is in talks to play “a jaded and hardened crew member.” Directed by William Eubank (The Signal), that film is aiming to start production in March in New Orleans.
What say you Skwad? Is Cozad the right pick for Suicide Squad 2 or do you hope that Ayer will stay in the game to ensure his vision stays intact? Let us know in the comments!