Before Guardians of the Galaxy helmer James Gunn was brought in to direct The Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. follow-up to 2016’s Suicide Squad went through a number of iterations with the likes of Adam Cozad (The Legend of Tarzan) and Zak Penn (The Avengers) working on pitches before the studio enlisted Gavin O’Connor (The Accountant) to write and direct.
At the time, rumours were circulating that O’Connor’s sequel would have seen Task Force X charged with tracking down “a weapon of mass destruction” – one which would ultimately turn out to be the character of Black Adam, played by Dwayne Johnson.
SEE ALSO: James Gunn praises David Ayer for his Suicide Squad castings
Well, thanks to the latest issue of Empire (via Screen Rant), we now have confirmation that the early plan was indeed to have Johnson’s Black Adam introduced to the DC Extended Universe as the main villain in Suicide Squad 2. However, O’Connor eventually exited the director’s chair, with the studio then going in a different direction under Gunn.
Johnson has been attached to the role of Black Adam since 2014, with the character originally set to be introduced in 2017’s Shazam! movie before plans changed to have him make his DCEU debut in his own solo movie, which is looking to start shooting in the spring under director Jaume Collet-Serra (Jungle Cruise).
Would you have liked to see the Suicide Squad going up against Black Adam? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
The Suicide Squad sees James Gunn directing a cast that includes Suicide Squad returnees Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag) and Viola Davis (Amanda Waller) as well as new DCEU additions Idris Elba, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, Nathan Fillion, Taika Waititi, Jennifer Holland, David Dastmalchian, Joaquín Cosío, Mayling Ng, Flula Borg, Juan Diego Botto, Storm Reid, John Cena, Pete Davidson, Tinashe Kajese, Daniela Melchior, Julio Ruiz, Steve Agee, Michael Rooker, and Sean Gunn.
