Warner Brothers Seeks John Wick Directors For DC Film, Red Hood A “Priority” Character

The latest DC Cinematic Universe rumor to come from Latino Review’s El Mayimbe is an exciting one, as it opens the possibility for a fan-favorite character and Batman story arc to be adapted on screen, and hints that an up-and-coming directing duo might join the ranks of Warner Brothers’ DC team.

Early Tuesday morning, Mayimbe took to Instagram to drop this little nugget of info for DC fans:

RT! #DC #RUMOR #BatmanvSupermanDawnofJustice Jason Todd’s uniform is in a display case inside the Batcave! In fact, The Joker & Harley Quinn are estranged in SUICIDE SQUAD because she feels guilt over the death of Todd. I’m also told that the RED HOOD is now a priority character for DC. One more thing, John Wick directors Chad Stahelski & David Leith being courted to direct DC film! #dccu #dcmovie #batmanvsuperman #suicidesquad #skwad #dccomics #TheJoker #harleyquinn #jasontodd #redhood #ChadStahelski #DavidLeitch

A photo posted by Umberto Gonzalez (@umbertogonzalez) on Apr 7, 2015 at 8:04am PDT

There are a few exciting things to dissect here, beginning first and foremost with the idea of Jason Todd/Red Hood entering the DC Cinematic Universe. For the uninitiated, Todd was the second Robin, who took up the mantle after Dick Grayson moved on to become Nightwing. In the 1988 A Death in the Family story, Todd was tragically killed by the Joker, but reappeared in 2005’s Under the Hood as a gun-toting antihero called The Red Hood.

The Jason Todd story arc has been a fan-favorite since its inception and though it became the focus of a direct-to-video animated feature in 2010, many have been itching for a live-action adaptation. Based on Mayimbe’s information, it sounds as if the death of Jason Todd has already happened in the DCCU continuity, meaning we won’t see a direct translation of the Death in the Family arc (unless the upcoming Batman solo film is a prequel, which is doubtful). That means we’ll likely see allusions to the story in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, while the Red Hood’s emergence could play out in a future Bat film.

What’s perhaps even more exciting is that WB is supposedly looking at Chad Stahelski and David Leitch to helm a DC property. The stuntmen-turned-directors made quite the exciting splash with the bloody and fun John Wick last year and could easily fit right into the DC family. It’s unclear which film they’d direct, though it’s likely one of 2018’s projects.

Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Justice League Part One already have directors, while upcoming films like The Flash and Aquaman are still without one (though recent rumors suggest Phil Lord and Chris Miller could take on The Flash). All signs point toward James Wan taking the helm of 2019’s Shazam, while projects like Cyborg and Green Lantern – which don’t arrive until 2020 – might be too far away to land directors just yet.

It’s also possible that Leitch and Stahelski could take the reins of an as-yet-announced project, like the next Batman or Superman solo films. Those two projects are expected to arrive sometime before 2020 as well. Though Ben Affleck seems to be on everyone’s radar for Batman, there’s no guarantee that he’ll take on the project.

Tell us, would you like to see The Red Hood join the DC Cinematic Universe? And, which film do you want Leitch and Stahelski to tackle? Sound off below!