It looks like Mel Gibson’s redemption tour has a chance of making a stop in the DC Expanded Universe, namely directing Suicide Squad 2
The Hollywood Reporter states that Warner Brothers is in talks with the Hacksaw Ridge director to take over the reins on the franchise from director David Ayer, who will instead be focusing on making Gotham City Sirens happen. Gibson reportedly is familiarizing himself with the source materials, meaning most likely he’s sitting in a chair somewhere with a stack of trade paperbacks next to him.
Warners has a good history with Gibson, having made tons of money off of him with the Lethal Weapon franchise, so he probably has a number of friends still at the company. However, the article states that the studio is waiting for Gibson to make up his mind, as they are also pursuing Safe House director Daniel Espinoza as well as other directors.
On the one hand, Gibson is the man who has said that Jews start all the wars, called a female police officer “sugar tits” and has used derogatory language to describe blacks and gays. That behavior has been chalked up to his battles with alcohol, and his defenders in Hollywood, which include Robert Downey, Jr. and Jodie Foster, say he deserves a second chance. However, there are detractors in Hollywood that put the kibosh on a planned cameo in The Hangover: Part II. And that divide exists outside of Hollywood as well.
Regardless, Gibson is a director that won an Oscar and is nominated for another one this year. As a matter of fact, if it wasn’t for all the controversy, Gibson probably wouldn’t have given the job a second look.
More on this as the days go by.
