James Gunn's 'The Suicide Squad' Title Was Suggested As A Joke, But Then It Became Real

The Suicide Squad title was initially brought up as a joke title for the new movie, but it eventually became real. James Gunn's next film isn't exactly a direct sequel to David Ayer's 2016 movie Suicide Squad, so a simple title like "Suicide Squad 2" wouldn't really be appropriate. But when it came time to select a title for the new movie, Gunn jokingly brought up The Suicide Squad as an option – only for the powers that be to actually like it so much that they decided to use it for real.

Our pals at GeekTyrant pointed us to a recent Q&A session that Gunn held while he was a passenger on a road trip, and he told the story in response to a fan who asked about the title of the new movie.

While acknowledging it's unlikely that The Suicide Squad title will change between now and the movie's release, Gunn left the door open for that possibility. Now that it's been established that WB and the producers are open to joke titles, I'm wishing Gunn had pitched something even more outlandish. (Captain Boomerang and the Suicide Squad has a nice ring to it.) Feel free to suggest your own alternate titles in the comments.

The Suicide Squad stars Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, Pete Davidson, Idris Elba, Nathan Fillion, Sean Gunn, Michael Rooker, David Dastmalchian, Storm Reid, Taika Waititi, and John Cena, and it's slated to hit theaters on August 6, 2021.