James Gunn Wraps ‘The Suicide Squad’ With An Emotional Note: ‘It Was A Hard, Hard Time In My Life’

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (the oddly-titled launch of David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad) began filming in September, as revealed by Jai Courtney, who’s returning as Boomerang. The production also caused a little wrinkle on SNL (Pete Davidson was notably missing from some episodes), but anticipation is high due to the assumption that Gunn will deliver (and execute) a better story than the blob-people-focused 2016 film. Gunn’s certainly capable, given the tone that he achieved with Guardians of the Galaxy, and he’s also back from career purgatory in a big way.

So professionally, The Suicide Squad will hopefully be a high point if folks will give the franchise another chance. Personally, however, these past several months were enormously difficult for Gunn, who stated during production that he’s “simply focused on MAKING the greatest movie I can.” It was more than that, though, and Gunn posted a heartbreaking message on Instagram (about losing both his father and his dog) while noting that filming has wrapped in Atlanta:

“And that’s a wrap on #TheSuicideSquad. My father died two weeks before we started filming and my dog died two weeks before the end. It was a hard, hard time in my life and yet the most fulfilling time I’ve ever had making a movie. The professionalism, talent, compassion and kindness of this cast and crew inspired me every day. Thanks to everyone involved in this film, in every stage of development, in every department – I am grateful from the bottom of my heart for you all. You are why I make movies.”

There’s no way around pausing to imagine just how difficult it must have been for Gunn to navigate this production, and it’s not even close to finished. Post-production begins now on the movie that’s starring returning cast members Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, and Viola Davis along with newcomers including Taika Waititi, Peter Capaldi, Idris Elba, and John Cena. However, Gunn’s thrilled and grateful to continue helming this project, and The Suicide Squad will hit theaters on August 6, 2021.