You may have thought Suicide Squad was an abhorrent mess (you may not have, but I sure did). Regardless, guess what? The film still made $746 million worldwide — nearly $100 million more than the Justice League movie. So there will be a sequel, one way or another.

David Ayer wrote and directed the first Suicide Squad, but TheWrap reports that Warner Bros. and DC may have found a shocking name to take over the franchise: James Gunn, who was recently fired from Marvel and the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise after old offensive tweets Gunn had written years before reemerged online. Despite fan petitions and the entire Guardians cast writing a joint letter in support of Gunn, Marvel and Disney held firm and let him go.

So Gunn’s calendar is clear. And now TheWrap says he could be switching teams to the Distinguished Competition:

Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is in talks to write Suicide Squad 2 for DC with an eye to direct ... The first Suicide Squad, which starred Will Smith and Margot Robbie, earned nearly $750 million worldwide on a $175 million budget before promotion and advertising.

It’s hard to imagine a better fit for Suicide Squad than Gunn. Ayer, who excels at ultra-bleak crime thrillers, seemed to have trouble balancing the material’s lighter and darker elements. Gunn on the other hand knows how to make a superhero story about a band of lovable misfits and outsiders. He’s got a proven track record working on comic-book blockbusters, and he knows how to turn niche properties into huge mainstream hits. He’s the obvious choice to make Suicide Squad 2. 

Still, the obvious so rarely happens in Hollywood (and in this case Warners could have been leary of a potential PR situation if they hired a guy who was fired from Disney under less than optimal circumstance) that it’s still surprising this might happen. One thing is certain. If Gunn does come on board it makes me interested in seeing another Suicide Squad movie for the very first time. And then there’s this tidbit, which is even more interesting:

Meanwhile, Marvel has yet to announce a replacement for Gunn on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

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