WARNER BROS. SETS UP ‘SUICIDE SQUAD’

Warner Bros. is going on a suicide mission, setting up the DC Comics property “Suicide Squad” for Dan Lin (“Sherlock Holmes”) to produce as a potential franchise.

In a departure from normal comic-based fare, “Suicide Squad” concentrates on a group of incarcerated supervillains rather than the usual focus on superheroes. The first version of the squad debuted in a 1959 DC Comic, and a series was launched in 1987.

Stephen Gilchrist from Lin Pictures will co-produce. Justin Marks (“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Hack/Slash,” “Street Fighter”) is penning the screenplay.

“Suicide Squad” will feature a mix of well-known and unknown villains recruited by the government to accomplish a task deemed too dangerous for superheroes. The historically independent operators must bury their own interpersonal conflicts and agendas to form a cohesive unit to take on a singular task.

Lin’s a former Warner exec who set up his own Warner-based shingle at the start of last year. Besides producing “Sherlock Holmes,” starring Robert Downey Jr., Lin’s a producer on “This Side of the Truth” and “The Box” and an exec producer on “Terminator Salvation” and “Shorts.”