Idris Elba looks like a lock for the new Suicide Squad headed up by James Gunn. Yet, Deadshot no longer appears to be who they have in mind for him, so Floyd Lawton might be sitting on the bench for now.
Variety is saying everyone, Gunn included, is agreeing to move on without Deadshot and really reboot the thing. Warner Bros. did not care to comment on the matter and it is not known who Elba is going to play, except that it’s a new character – maybe one created for the movies.
Will Smith played the assassin last time around and all indications at the time pointed that Elba would take Smith’s place as Deadshot. Reports indicated Smith was unable to reprise his role due to scheduling conflicts.
With new reports indicating Elba will not replace Deadshot, it indicates Warner Bros. is showing him real respect with this move. It keeps the door open for him, it seems, in the event he can return. Nothing coming to light quite says that’s the plan they have, but Smith is on good terms with them.
Dubbed The Suicide Squad, Gunn’s movie was rumored as a sequel, initially. But, with the DC Extended Universe experiencing a shift — tonally as well as creatively — and a new cast assembling, that hearsay fell by the wayside pretty rapidly. Shazam! and Aquaman producer Peter Safran was adamant the movie is a reboot, and not a sequel.
Though Gunn and WB are rejecting some old ideas, they are reportedly keeping Margot Robbie around. The Oscar nominee’s (for I, Tonya) Harley Quinn proves too popular to part with and has a bright future ahead of her in the DCEU. Hooking up with the Squad after Birds of Prey, she will reportedly join rumored characters King Shark, Peacemaker, the unlikely picks of Polk-A-Dot Man and Ratcatcher, and Captain Boomerang (the Aussie villain played again by Robbie’s countryman Jai Courtney).
The Suicide Squad, starring Elba as whoever, is scheduled for theatrical release on August 6, 2021.
Who do you think Elba will play or is a fit for? Let us know in the comments.