Suicide Squad, the now Oscar-winning comic book movie about a bunch of bad guys kind of becoming good guys, is getting a sequel. And it is a big priority for Warner Bros. But before they can move ahead and really get things going, they need to have a story in place. And they are apparently on top of that. The studio is reportedly in negotiations to have Adam Cozad write the script for Suicide Squad 2.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Adam Cozad, who is best known for writing last summer's The Legend of Tarzan, is in talks to pen the Suicide Squad sequel. Since The Legend of Tarzan was also done for Warner Bros., it stands to reason they liked working with him, even though the Tarzan reboot didn't meet expectations at the box office ($356 million worldwide) and was largely panned by critics. As we have learned from previous entries in the DC Extended Universe, critical acclaim is not a requirement in order to move ahead with more of these movies. Taking that into account, Adam Cozad seems to fit the bill when it comes to finding the right Suicide Squad 2 story.

His other writing credits include Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and the currently in-development Underwater, which has Kristen Stewart attached to star. He also did some work on the Valiant Comics adaptation Bloodshot. Jack Ryan was met with a lukewarm reception, so based on the movies Adam Cozad has worked on that have actually been released, it is understandable if fans don't get super excited about this news. But the Suicide Squad sequel is seemingly on the fast track and THR notes that the sequel is a "priority." It isn't necessarily hard to understand why.

The first Suicide Squad has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success seemingly in spite of the fact that it was incredibly divisive. It recently won the Oscar for Hairstyling and Makeup, and that is just the latest accomplishment the movie has been able to claim. Suicide Squad also crushed at the box office, bringing in a grand total of $745 million worldwide. The first movie in the DC Extended Universe to not feature Superman also managed to have a very successful soundtrack, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media in addition to being certified platinum for shipping over 1 million copies. All of that despite the fact that Suicide Squad currently holds a measly 26 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

David Ayer somewhat famously only had six weeks to write the first Suicide Squad script before he had to get ready for production. At least in this case it seems like Cozad is going to have the time he needs to get the story right, which is what Warner Bros. wants before moving ahead with the rest of the creative team. A director hasn't been hired, but it was recently reported that the studio was talking with Mel Gibson about possibly coming on board. That is still possibly on the table, but Daniel Espinosa's name has also been thrown around.

As for David Ayer, he is developing the Harley Quinn spin-off Gotham City Sirens with star Margot Robbie and he is attached to direct that. Warner Bros. doesn't have a release date set for Suicide Squad 2 but since the movie is a priority we can guess that it wouldn't be dropping any later than 2019. We'll have to see how everything shakes out but they have the first very important piece of the puzzle in place. Even if that puzzle piece isn't overly encouraging or exciting on its own.