Warner Bros. just keeps losing directors for Suicide Squad 2 and it seems to be extremely frustrating to fans.
David Ayer, Mel Gibson, and now Jaume Collet-Sierra have all passed on the film and Warner Bros. should keep thinking outside the box.
The DCEU also has a legacy of hiring horror directors with James Wan and Shazam! director David Sandberg, not to mention Zack Snyder‘s first film was Dawn of The Dead and some might consider Patty Jenkins‘ Monster as a real-life horror film in a sense.
One interesting suggestion has been horror indie director Eli Roth (Knock Knock, Cabin Fever, Death Wish, Hostel), who recently is making a turn to action with the remake of Death Wish starring Bruce Willis (which I’m hearing good things about). If he can handle Willis on a studio set than he can handle anything WB throws at him during development until post.
Also, if they decided to trim the budget for an R-rating that wouldn’t phase Roth at all.
He isn’t foreign to the rag-tag team on a suicide mission concept either, as he played the Bear Jew in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and knows that tone and dynamic well from first-hand experience on that set. Not to mention, he’s been around knives, guns, and stunts his entire career.
He directed the propaganda film within a film for Quentin’s Basterds Nation’s Pride.
https://youtu.be/ojB5fpoeQ2c?t=1m13s
A glowing issue with the first film (among other things) was the over-use of CGI, Roth would likely move towards more practical effects and limit the CGI storms that have muddled the DC films.
Warner Bros. might want to stop and recalculate their options here to maybe look into getting a director with some horror chops.
Let’s be honest, if they were considering Jaume how much of a stretch is it to see Eli Roth here as well? Not much.