It was announced in October of last year that James Gunn would be penning the script for Suicide Squad 2, now titled The Suicide Squad, set to be released in August of 2021. Now, it appears Gunn will be stepping behind the camera as he's currently in talks to direct the film as well, marking his first directorial effort since being fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn is in negotiations to make his return to the director’s chair with The Suicide Squad, which is set to act as a relaunch of the Suicide Squad franchise. The film is expected to go in a new direction with different characters and actors from David Ayer’s Suicide Squad starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie.

RELATED: The Batman and Suicide Squad Sequel Get Release Dates

Gunn was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in July of last year following the resurfacing of offensive tweets the filmmaker had made to his Twitter account prior to joining Disney. Despite an outpouring of support from his colleagues and fans alike, with a petition garnering over 400,000 signatures for his rehiring, Disney has held strong on their position to fire Gunn.

Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad is set to hit theaters Aug. 6, 2021.