Entertainment Movies Action Movies James Gunn Celebrates Wrapping 'The Suicide Squad' with Huge Cast Photo and Emotional Note Suicide Squad sequel set to hit theaters August 6, 2021 By Ale Russian Ale Russian Ale Russian is a contributing writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has appeared in Women's World, First For Women, Biography.com and the Chicago Sun-Times. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 3, 2020 11:42AM EST The Suicide Squad is officially done filming. The sequel for the 2016 original wrapped last week, with director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) penning a heartfelt note in celebration on Instagram. The post also included a photo featuring the cast and crew of the film. In the note, Gunn revealed the personal ups and downs he experienced during filming. “And that’s a wrap on #TheSuicideSquad,” he captioned. “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.” Will Smith Won’t Return for Suicide Squad 2: Report Last fall, Gunn revealed all 24 actors who will be appearing in the sequel, with plenty of new names joining the mix. James Gunn/Instagram The new faces include Idris Elba playing an unnamed new character, Guardians of the Galaxy veteran Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion (Firefly), WWE star John Cena, Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who), Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live, and reportedly just doing a cameo), David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight, and reportedly playing Polka-Dot Man), and newcomer Daniela Melchior (reportedly as Ratcatcher). On the other hand, actors who were in 2016’s Suicide Squad but are not on Gunn’s list include Will Smith as Deadshot (it was reported he had a scheduling conflict), Jared Leto’s Joker, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Karen Fukuhara’s Katana, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s Killer Croc. The Suicide Squad will open in theaters August 6, 2021.