James Gunn marks end of The Suicide Squad shoot with heartfelt message
The director opened up about the difficulties of filming the DC baddie mash-up
The sequel/quasi-reboot of Suicide Squad has finished filming, according to an emotional Instagram post from director James Gunn.
The filmmaker – most famous for helming Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies – shared a snap of the movie’s cast and crew, and opened up about the difficulties surrounding the shoot.
“My father died two weeks before we started filming and my dog died two weeks before the end,” Gunn wrote.
“It was a hard, hard time in my life and yet the most fulfilling time I’ve ever had making a movie. The professionalism, talent, compassion and kindness of this cast and crew inspired me every day.
"Thanks to everyone involved in this film, in every stage of development, in every department – I am grateful from the bottom of my heart for you all. You are why I make movies.”
Gunn first signed up to The Suicide Squad after he was fired from directing Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. This was due to the discovery of old tweets making jokes about paedophilia and rape.
Following the firing, Guardians of the Galaxy cast members – including Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel and Dave Bautista – posted a letter to their own social media accounts saying they were fully behind the director, with actor Chris Pratt adding he would “personally love to see” Gunn return.
Gunn was subsequently re-hired on Guardians 3 and work will commence on the film after the director has completed The Suicide Squad.
Following loosely on from 2016’s critically-panned Suicide Squad, The Suicide Squad will see stars Idris Elba, John Cena, Nathan Fillion and Peter Capaldi joining returning cast Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney and Viola Davis.
The Suicide Squad will be released on 6th August 2021
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Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.