Following the success of HBO Max’s “Peacemaker” series earlier this year, creator/director James Gunn teased yet another “The Suicide Squad” spin-off series, saying it would “connected to this universe” but it “won’t be as much a comedy as ‘Peacemaker.’” Did we just learn what it is? Because Viola Davis will be reprising her role as The Suicide Squad boss Amanda Waller in an upcoming spin-off series centered on her character.
This does seem to check all the boxed because Waller’s character is usually, tough as nail, humorless, and pretty far from comedy. The trades (Deadline/Variety)report that Davis is in talks to star and executive produce, of course, and “Watchmen” writer Christal Henry will write and exec produce the series, which comes from Warner Bros. TV.
The revelation does sort of raise the question of James Gunn who is not really mentioned in these reports as actively involved (though he is an executive producer along with “Peacemaker” producer Peter Safran). Gunn himself had suggested he had additional DCEU projects in the works, so there still could be another movie or show in the works beyond “Peacemaker” season two which was greenlit earlier this year.
For those not quite in the know, Davis’ Amanda Waller is the head of Task Force X, aka The Suicide Squad, which is an off-the-books covert secret agency that hires supervillains to do their dirty work in exchange for lighter sentences. The character was first introduced in David Ayer’s 2016 film, “Suicide Squad” and she also appeared in Gunn’s 2021 “The Suicide Squad” sequel/sort of soft reboot.
Waller also appeared briefly in Gunn’s “Peacemaker” series as she was revealed to be the mother of Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), a spy within the ranks of this Task Force X offshoot, hired to report back to her mom. However, at the end of “Peacemaker” season one, as a kind of show of solidarity to her friends and to show her mother didn’t control her Adebayo outed her mother publicly for her work with Task Force X and the Suicide Squad which could have caused all kinds of dramas including potential jail time. At the very least, this was a huge political scandal for the character who is probably going to stand before Congress.
Is that the makings of a great show? That we can’t answer, but a Waller show is in the works and that’s where the character left off. No word when this one will shoot, but Discovery, which recently bought Warner Bros. seems keen to keep DCEU pumping on HBO Max, so it might not be too long until we learn more.