It appears that Suicide Squad 2 is a major continuing franchise for Warner Bros., despite reports stating otherwise. Though the first movie was a critical failure, it was a box office smash, earning over $740 million at the worldwide box office. Talks of a sequel began almost immediately after the release of the first movie and it was announced that the sequel was in development last year. DC Films has been in a bit of controversy after Justice League crashed and burned, but it appears that Suicide Squad 2 is a "big priority" for the studio, according to actor Joel Kinnaman.

Joel Kinnaman played Colonel Rick Flag in the first installment and he's currently out promoting Netflix's Altered Carbon and talk of Suicide Squad 2 came up in a few of his press stops. When asked about the movie, Kinnaman said that Warner Bros. is currently working on it and that it's a big deal for the studio. He had this to say.

"I just know that they are working intensely on it. I know it's a big priority at Warner Bros., but it's an equally big priority to get it right. We all felt that we had lightning in a bottle, in a way, and it partly got away from us, a little bit. It's really important to harness everything that was great about it, and then fix what didn't really work. So, I know they're working on it, and we'll see. I'm very excited to read something, but I don't have any new information."

Joel Kinnaman is going out of his way to say that the movie is still being worked on, which is good news for fans who are looking forward to Suicide Squad 2. However, he didn't have anything else to say about the movie starting production.

As of this writing, Suicide Squad 2 is expected to come out in 2019, if everything goes according to plan. In another recent interview, Joel Kinnaman mentioned that the sequel will be more grounded than its predecessor. The actor points out that there was too much "sorcery" in the first movie. He explains.

"I think the characters are so extreme, so I think it could be more effective if we were seeing them with maybe less sorcery. I think that the characters become more extreme if you see them in conjunction with more real people."

According to reports from late last year, Suicide Squad 2 is expected to shoot in the fall of this year with the original cast returning, including Jared Leto and Margot Robbie. However, when both actors were asked about the sequel in separate interviews, they both claimed to have zero information about the movie. It is widely believed that out of all of the Harley Quinn projects that are currently in various stages of development, that Suicide Squad 2 will be the next time that we see the now iconic villain on the big screen.

Joel Kinnaman's comments about Suicide Squad 2 are certainly promising since there has not been any official news surrounding the project released in quite a while. A production start date in the fall is still possible with a 2019 release date probable, especially if Kinnaman's words are to be believed. A recent report suggests that Warner Bros. was already looking ahead to the future, even before Justice League hit theaters. You can read more of the interview with Joel Kinnaman over at Collider.