Since his directorial debut with “Slither” over 15 years ago, James Gunn has almost always defied conventions and his fans have loved him for it. He took the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a decidedly new direction with the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise and brought that same irreverence to “The Suicide Squad” last Summer. He followed that up with an episodic spin-off, “Peacemaker,” which was a massive success (at least according to HBO Max), and is currently hard at work writing the second season.

Continue reading James Gunn Challenges His Audience With ‘Peacemaker’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

From the beginning of his tenure at Warner Bros. and DC Films, James Gunn’s enthusiasm for the DC Universe has seemingly just kept feeding itself. Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” film led to the filmmaker creating a spinoff series, “Peacemaker” (our review), and that series starring John Cena seems like it will spin off even more stories.

Gunn is already working on a “Peacemaker” Season 2, but there’s more.

Continue reading James Gunn Says He’s Involved In Multiple DC Projects Plus A Spinoff Show That “Blends” Characters From ‘Peacemaker’ at The Playlist.

Following the success of HBO Max’s “Peacemaker” series earlier this year, creator/director James Gunn teased yet another “The Suicide Squad” spin-off series, saying it would “connected to this universe” but it “won’t be as much a comedy as ‘Peacemaker.’” Did we just learn what it is? Because Viola Davis will be reprising her role as The Suicide Squad boss Amanda Waller in an upcoming spin-off series centered on her character.

Continue reading Viola Davis To Star In An Amanda Wallace ‘Peacemaker’ Spin-Off Series At HBO Max at The Playlist.

Director Justin Lin isn’t messing around with “Fast & Furious 10.” The filmmaker has already cast “Aquaman” actor Jason Momoa as the villain and is seemingly looking to grab every rising star he can. While franchise star Vin Diesel is trying his best to guilt Dwayne Johnson (“Hobbs & Shaw”) into returning via a bizarre social media post, the cast is filling out just fine without him, and they’ve recruited yet another familiar face from the DCEU.

Continue reading ‘Fast & Furious 10’: Daniela Melchior From ‘The Suicide Squad’ In Talks To Star at The Playlist.

UPDATE: HBO Max has officially announced Season 2 of “Peacemaker,” so it is now confirmed. The original post follows…

As “Peacemaker” wraps up its first season on HBO Max, it seems like only a matter of time before we get official word about Season 2. James Gunn, even before the series began airing, hinted that he would like to do more episodes.

Continue reading ‘Peacemaker’ Renewed For Season 2 As HBO Max Executive Teases New James Gunn DC TV Show at The Playlist.

There’s no denying that “Peacemaker” is doing pretty well for HBO Max. And even before the series debuted earlier this month, it seemed as if the streaming service was already primed and ready to go with a Season 2 of the James Gunn-led superhero show. Well, while we’re still not 100% sure “Peacemaker” is going to get a Season 2 renewal, Gunn has already begun teasing another DC superhero show that he is currently working on.

Continue reading James Gunn Says His Next DC TV Series Will Be Connected to ‘The Suicide Squad’ & ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Is Almost Confirmed at The Playlist.

The Costume Designer Guild announced their nominees for the 2022 CDG Awards and there were actually some major surprises. Sure, Jenny Beaven’s work in “Cruella” and Janty Yates’ frocks in “House of Gucci” earned respective category nominations, but few would have expected Derica Cole Washington‘s work in “Zola” or Ruth E. Carter’s designs in “Coming 2 America” to be remembered.

Continue reading ‘House of Gucci,’ ‘Zola’ & ‘Book of Boba Fett’ Among 2022 Costume Designer Guild Awards Nominees at The Playlist.

Last year, the world was introduced to James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad.” The film might not have had a huge box office, due to a variety of reasons, but fans and critics seemed to really enjoy what the filmmaker brought to the DCEU franchise. Now, not even six months later, he’s ready to keep it going with his first HBO Max series, “Peacemaker,” a spinoff of the aforementioned superhero film.

Continue reading ‘Peacemaker’: Has The James Gunn Formula Run Out Of Steam In His ‘Suicide Squad’ Spinoff? [The Playlist Podcast] at The Playlist.

James Gunn has been very upfront with wanting to continue work at Warner Bros. on more DC superhero projects. We’ve seen him jump immediately from “The Suicide Squad” to the “Peacemaker” HBO Max series (and he has talked about wanting to make more seasons). But apparently, he’s already working on what will be his next DC project.

According to an interview with Collider, James Gunn teased that he is already working on what will be his third project with WB/DC.

Continue reading James Gunn Teases A New DC TV Project After ‘Peacemaker’ at The Playlist.

Are you feeling pretty? Or feeling monstrous? Look no further than the 10 films still in the mix for the 20220 Makeup and Hairstyling Academy Award. “Cruella,” “Dune,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” and “The Suicide Squad” were expected among the list. “No Time To Die” and “West Side Story” were slight surprises.

READ MORE: “Cruella” with Emma Stone [Review]

Notable snubs in this category at this stage included “Spencer,” “Eternals,” “The Matrix Resurrections,” “Being the Ricardos,” “King Richard” and “The Last Night in Soho,” among others.

Continue reading ‘Cruella’, ‘Eyes of Tammy Faye’ Style To Oscars 2022 Makeup & Hairstyling Shortlist at The Playlist.

James Gunn is undoubtedly making a significant impact over at DC Films and WarnerMedia as the filmmaker gave us the violent but oddly humorous and emotionally engaging comic book romp, “The Suicide Squad.” The lead to a spinoff series, “Peacemaker,” focusing on the foul-mouthed and psychotic character played by John Cena.

READ MORE: James Gunn Talks Peacemaker’s Fate In ‘The Suicide Squad’ & Why It Leads To “The Most Incredible TV Show People Will Ever See”

HBO Max is confirmed to promote the new show at the big DC Comics event DC FanDome later this month but has released a first-look clip (see below).

Continue reading ‘Peacemaker’ First Look Clip: New Footage Leans Into James Gunn’s Comedic Flair at The Playlist.

If you’ve seen James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad,” you know that the film is basically a reboot of the franchise but with a few returning characters, such as Harley Quinn, Rick Flagg, and Amanda Waller. But one of the biggest names from David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” that didn’t show up is Will Smith as Deadshot. And according to a new interview, it appears the reason Smith didn’t show up is purely a scheduling issue, and he’s actually open to returning as his assassin superhero.

Continue reading Will Smith Blames Scheduling For Not Playing Deadshot In ‘The Suicide Squad’ & Says He’s Open To Returning at The Playlist.

The reaction to James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” was more divisive than many expected, but it was hard to find anyone who wasn’t entertained by John Cena’s inspired performance as the greatest American hero in his own mind, Peacemaker. A vigilante with a skewed justification of wring and wrong, the 55-year-old Charlton Comics creation now his is own spin-off series on HBO Max. Cena gleefully returns as “Peacemaker” and, during a press conference for the Television Critics Association, made two specific promises for fans of the character.

Continue reading John Cena Teases More Tighty Whities & Dancing In His ‘Peacemaker’ Future [TCA] at The Playlist.

With Gavin O’Connor’s “Warrior” recently celebrating its tenth anniversary, we recently sat down for an interview on The Playlist Podcast to talk about the writer-directors standout sports drama. And while the focus was on “Warrior” and its potential television spinoff, the conversation did turn to past and future projects: including a discarded adaptation of “Suicide Squad” and an upcoming drama with O’Connor’s “Mare of Easttown” collaborator.

Continue reading Gavin O’Connor Says Warner Bros Regime Change Killed His ‘Suicide Squad’ Movie: “They Wanted A Comedy” at The Playlist.

No one is here to incriminate themselves when it comes to movie piracy. But if you’re reading this website, odds are you’ve seen a pirated movie at some point in the past. If it was more than a decade ago, you probably remember just how bad pirated films were, as most of them were recorded on camcorders set up in a movie theater with shaky video and terrible sound. However, with the ubiquity of streaming/VOD releases, the quality of pirated films has increased substantially.

Continue reading Motion Picture Association Says Same-Day Streaming Release Strategy Has Led To A Huge Increase In Film Piracy at The Playlist.

The box office stories of the Summer Movie Season 2021™ have been giving film fans whiplash for weeks. One story talks about how “Black Widow” has a monster opening weekend and shows how cinema is rebounding after the pandemic. A week later, the film is viewed as an unmitigated disaster and Scarlett Johansson sues Disney. Last week, it was “The Suicide Squad” debuting well under expectations, showing how COVID is back and theaters are doomed.

Continue reading ‘Free Guy’ Exceeds Box Office Expectations As ‘The Suicide Squad’ Gets Killed In Its Second Weekend at The Playlist.

After watching James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad,” you really can’t imagine the team fighting any other villain than Starro. The giant, colorful, frankly ridiculous alien starfish fits perfectly with the tone set forth through the first two acts of Gunn’s superhero film. But early in the planning stages of “The Suicide Squad,” the filmmaker had another villain in mind for the misfit heroes to take on—Superman.

Continue reading James Gunn Considered Using Superman As The Villain In ‘The Suicide Squad’ But It Was A Continuity Nightmare at The Playlist.

Warner Bros. might not be jumping up and down about the box office return of “The Suicide Squad,” however, WarnerMedia seemed happy enough to give James Gunn his own spinoff HBO Max series “Peacemaker” and have indicated they want him to make more films for them. It also feels like directors such as David F. Sandberg (“Shazam!

Continue reading James Gunn Says He & Margot Robbie Have Discussed Working Together Again, But ‘Gotham City Sirens’ Not Under Consideration at The Playlist.

There’s a lot of uncertainty (again) as we enter the end of the summer movie season in theaters. With COVID cases rising and renewed mask mandates in some locations, some were worried this might lead to people taking a break from going out to the cinemas to see the next big films. Well, if the opening weekend box office of “The Suicide Squad” is any indication, those fears might be coming true.

Continue reading ‘The Suicide Squad’ Has The 2nd Most-Viewed HBO Max Opening Weekend, As The Film Struggles At The Box Office at The Playlist.

David Ayer, who? If you’re the folks at Warner Bros. and DC Films, that’s the exact question they want audiences to ask after seeing James Gunn’s latest film, “The Suicide Squad.” Though Ayer did, technically, make a “Suicide Squad” film back in 2016 (though it might not conform to his exact vision), the studio behind that feature is hoping you have selective amnesia and embrace what is happening in Gunn’s reinvention of the misfit supervillain troupe, Task Force X.

Continue reading James Gunn Reinvents ‘The Suicide Squad’ By Giving DC’s Misfit Losers A Dose Of Humanity [The Playlist Podcast] at The Playlist.

Filmmaker James Gunn seems to be making quite the impression over at Warner Bros. and DC Films with his latest DECU installment, “The Suicide Squad,” which has seemingly been hyped-up for what feels like ages and delivered the goods with an exceptional group of reviews alongside positive buzz from fickle DC Comics fans.

READ MORE: ‘The Suicide Squad’: James Gunn Inspires The DC Universe With Gnarly Irreverence, Superhero Subversion & A Big Beating Heart [Review]

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, DC Films president Walter Hamada said, “Gunn is always welcome back, whatever he wants to do.

Continue reading James Gunn Will Be Back For More DC Films Says WB Exec: “We Have More Planned” at The Playlist.

A lot has already been made of James Gunn’s decision to make “The Suicide Squad.” We already know the opportunity came about because Disney executives fired the filmmaker from “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and suddenly Gunn’s schedule was wide open, leading to a meeting with Warner Bros. about DC superhero projects. And now that it’s clear ‘Suicide Squad’ was a great franchise for him to tackle (the man sure does love his misfits), it’s hard to imagine Gunn working on anything else.

Continue reading James Gunn Would Have Considered Making A ‘Batman’ Film If Matt Reeves Wasn’t Already Doing One at The Playlist.

So, as you probably saw earlier today, “The Suicide Squad” writer/director James Gunn was on the Happy Sad Confused show, dumped a little bit on Martin Scorsese and his criticism of superhero films; that’s gonna cause some online drama, but there’s really lots more. One of the big topics that the interviewer host comes upon is what he would want to do next and what kind of superhero property he might want to tackle next, if any.

Continue reading James Gunn Says He Pitched A ‘Ravagers’ Show To Kevin Feige & Wants To Do ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 at The Playlist.

First, it needs to be said that a lot of time has passed since Martin Scorsese took aim at Marvel Studios and superhero films, basically calling them trash and not real “cinema.” So, perhaps in that time, Scorsese binged all of the MCU films and is anxiously awaiting “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in September. But he hasn’t said anything about that yet, so when James Gunn was recently asked about those controversial Marvel comments made by the legendary director, he talked openly and honestly about what he thinks motivated them.

Continue reading James Gunn Calls Martin Scorsese’s Criticism Of Marvel Films “Awful Cynical” Even Though He Does Agree Somewhat at The Playlist.

Just as things were seemingly returning to normal – albeit slowly for some – it would seem that we may be going back to studios possibly shifting release dates for their more prominent properties. Or maybe “Clifford the Big Red Dog” is simply an outlier. That said, for the time being, there’s plenty of films on the docket worth keeping an eye out for in a month full of original content and few titles (such as the well-regarded “The Suicide Squad“) based on existing properties.

Continue reading 13 Films To Watch In August: ‘Suicide Squad,’ ‘Candyman,’ ‘Coda’ & More at The Playlist.