The competition between Warner Bros. and Marvel isn't always as direct as we fanboys like to think it is. Take for example this morning's news that Suicide Squad 2 director Jaume Collet-Serra has dropped out of the film in order to pursue a different project. No, it's not some Marvel superhero movie, but instead is Disney's Jungle Cruise starring Dwayne Johnson.
For Collet-Serra he's moving from one tentpole studio film to one that could be even bigger. I mean, we're talking about Disney here, and you know if he does well they'll add him to the Marvel roster some point down the line. Jungle Cruise has been in the works for a while now, and as you probably guessed it's based on another amusement park ride just like Pirates of the Caribbean. That franchise did pretty well, didn't it? After scoring a number of decent-sized hits with Liam Neeson thrillers Non-Stop and Run All Night, the director had his most surprising hit last summer with The Shallows. Jungle Cruise will be the biggest movie of his career.
As for the impact on Warner Bros. and the DCEU? Well, the struggles continue. He had been the top pick to direct the antihero sequel after David Ayer moved on to Gotham City Sirens. While names like Mel Gibson and David Goyer were mentioned, neither seemed likely and it's unclear if their phones will start blowing up now. Chances are the search will go in a different direction entirely. For now, Suicide Squad 2 has a script by Adam Cozad (The Legend of Tarzan) and not much else. [Deadline]
