James Gunn possibly directing Suicide Squad sequel for DC

Ousted MCU director James Gunn will soon be back in the saddle -- or at the very least, the director's chair.

The director is reportedly in talks to direct the upcoming sequel to 2016's Suicide Squad, per The Hollywood Reporter. The film, titled The Suicide Squad, was already going to be penned by Gunn, which was announced back in October.

This news came as part of Warner Bros. announcing the release dates for a handful of films over the next few years, including The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep and Matt Reeves' long-gestating The Batman -- sans Ben Affleck.

Gunn's script already promised a "fresh take" on the franchise and has now been given an August 2021 release date. On that note, it's said that Gunn's take will be less of a sequel than a relaunch of the property, as he intends to use mostly new characters for his curated roster of supervillains. Sources also indicated that the film is "very much rooted in Gunn’s vibe," which can only mean good things.

It's been quite the year for Gunn, who was fired by Disney for some old tweets back in July. Though he'd submitted his script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III, which is apparently still in play, he wouldn't be involved in the film's actual production.

His firing was met with protest from everyone from the Guardians cast and scores of fans the world over. In fact, his firing is still the subject of scrutiny from many of Gunn's colleagues. While Disney continues to search for his replacement, the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie remains on hold for the time being.

Still, this is good news for fans of both Gunn and the DCEU, which is still riding high after the monstrous success of James Wan's Aquaman. While Gunn helped reinvigorate the MCU with the first two Guardians films, there's no telling what he'll do with The Suicide Squad.