James Gunn confirms another ‘Suicide Squad’ spinoff for HBO Max

After the success of Peacemaker, James Gunn has teased another spin-off series for an undisclosed member of The Suicide Squad. In 2016, the world was first introduced to the on-screen ensemble known as the ‘Suicide Squad’ by visionary directors James Gunn and David Ayer. It was considered to be a “financial success but a critical flop” and its sequel, The Suicide Squad (2021) threw a spanner in the works as an R-rated DC Comics film — following in the footsteps of Birds of Prey (2020).

The Suicide Squad received positive reviews from critics who praised Gunn’s script, direction, and visual style; many found the film to be a significant improvement over its predecessor, and it became the most-streamed DCEU film on HBO Max. However, the film lost out on a box office profit due to several complications from the COVID-19 pandemic, its availability on HBO Max, and its relationship to the first Suicide Squad — which bombed — in every sense of the word.

Now, James Gunn has vaguely teased an upcoming project that focuses on another member of the Suicide Squad. Peacemaker released on HBO Max on Jan. 13 and received overall positive feedback on its humor and production values. Clearly, Gunn is planning to ride that prosperity wave. In an interview with Deadline, he claimed that another DCEU TV series was in early development, but failed to provide further details at this time.

We’re working on something else now, another TV show that’s connected to that universe. I can’t quite say. I can’t say anything. It is connected to this universe, and I don’t think it will be the same genre as Peacemaker; it won’t be as much a comedy as Peacemaker, but it will be in the same universe.

James Gunn via Deadline’s Hero Nation

Narrowing down the candidates, it seems unlikely that the series would be based on Harley Quinn, especially since the character already features in plenty of solo material alongside the DCEU. Perhaps the most likely contender is Idris Elba’s Bloodsport, particularly as Robert DuBois (Elba) has an interesting dynamic with Cena’s Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad. Surprisingly, Bloodsport turned out to be a real dark horse and captured the admiration of many DC fans, so there should be no objections to another solo series based around a ruthless (yet big-hearted) mercenary.

Since Gunn steered away from the likelihood of the unknown series landing in the same genre, the comedic aspects give a better hint as to who it could be. Again, Harley Quinn is an extremely comical and colorful character. Quite frankly, if the series isn’t centered around Bloodsport, the choice becomes much harder, especially since a solo run for any other Suicide Squad member seems pointless.

New episode of Peacemaker release on HBO Max every Thursday.