Ever since David Ayer opted to take the reins on Gotham City Sirens in lieu of the sequel to his 2016 comic book action blockbuster Suicide Squad, it looked like Task Force X would require a new commander to call the shots on their next big adventure if the DC Films sequel was to be ready in time for its undated 2019 release.

The search for Suicide Squad 2‘s new director has not yet ended, but the current front-runner for the job is now Jaume Collet-Serra. Best known for making modestly budgeted action and horror hits like Non-Stop and The Shallows, Collet-Serra has seized the top contender position from Mel Gibson. Previous candidates also included Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), Daniel Espinosa (Life), and Blade: Trinity director David Goyer.

Gibson reportedly balked at signing on to direct Suicide Squad 2 due to script delays. Adam Cozad (The Legend of Tarzan) had previously handled the writing duties, but he may be replaced now that Warner Bros. is said to have recruited Zak Penn (The Incredible Hulk) to submit a new treatment for the developing sequel.

Collet-Serra’s next feature is the thriller The Commuter, which reunites him with his Non-Stop star Liam Neeson and is set for release in January 2018. After that, he’ll move on to Waco, a drama about the 1993 standoff between David Koresh and his religious group Branch Davidians and the FBI and Texas state law enforcement which is being scripted by Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty). If Warner Bros. and DC hires him to direct Suicide Squad 2, he could segue into that following Waco as the studios are hoping to get the sequel before the cameras by the middle of 2018.

I wouldn’t mind seeing him nab this gig; Jaume Collet-Serra possesses quite the knack for making effective, crowd-pleasing genre flicks with loads of entertainment value for a fraction of the average summer blockbuster budget. He has what it takes to make Suicide Squad 2 vastly more coherent and fun than its predecessor, which had a seriously troubled production history.

[Source: Deadline]