Although this is perhaps not the weirdest movie rumour we've heard recently (here's looking at you David Fincher!), this one is certainly up there.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mel Gibson is in talks to direct a sequel to Suicide Squad. While no official offer or commitment has been made, The Hollywood Reporter's sources claim that Gibson is currently familiarising himself with the material while Warner Bros. are reportedly lining up alternatives in the (likely) event that Gibson passes.
Suicide Squad made a huge $750 million at the box office last year but it was widely panned by critics. The original's director David Ayer is currently developing a spin off focusing on an all female villain movie. It looks like Warner Bros. want a safe pair of hands for the sequel and if there's one thing you can say about Gibson it's that he can direct the heck out of a movie.
If you were to say even six months ago that Gibson would be in talks to helm a major tentpole blockbuster for Warner Bros. you would have been laughed out of the room. After spending years in the wilderness following his very public break down in the mid 00's, Gibson has very much made a comeback in the past few months. His latest film, Hacksaw Ridge, is up for several Academy Awards including a Best Director nomination for Gibson himself and has earned $164 million at the box office to date. Not bad considering it was made on a budget of $40 million.
It's interesting to note that just a few months ago, Gibson labelled Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice a 'piece of shit' and admitted to being baffled at the amount of money it cost to make.
"Maybe they do cost that much, I don't know. It seems to me you could do it for less." he went on to say. Perhaps it's Gibson's ability to get more for less has Warner Bros. interested. Hacksaw Ridge only cost $40 million dollars to make but it looks like they spent three times as much.
Gibson has also recently signed on with John Lithgow to star in Daddy's Home 2, the sequel to 2015's Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrel starring comedy. The next time he's likely to be seen on the big screen however is in The Professor and the Madman which was shot in Ireland last year.