'The Suicide Squad' Reportedly Won't Feature Idris Elba as Deadshot
By Kwadar Ray
There's very little known about James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, which is set to come out in 2021. There are an array of rumors out there about actors and characters who may be featured in the upcoming DC flick, but not much has been confirmed yet.
What fans know for sure is Margot Robbie will reportedly reprise her highly praised role as Harley Quinn, while Jai Courtney will return as Captain Boomerang. On Friday, TheWrap reported that Viola Davis will also be reprising her role as Amanda Walker.
Another villain many fans expected to return was Deadshot, the sniping assassin with deadly accuracy. Will Smith starred as Deadshot in 2016's Suicide Squad, but it was reported in March that Idris Elba would take on the role for Gunn's adaptation.
However, there's been a major change of plans. Variety reported Friday that all parties, including Gunn, have decided to move on from the Deadshot character, with Elba playing a new character instead.
It's unknown what character Elba will now be playing, but after internal talks the last few weeks, everyone involved felt it was the right move.
Variety also reports that the team did not want to feel as if it was disrespecting Smith by simply replacing him with Elba. The decision also keeps the door open for Smith to possibly come back in future Suicide Squad films, especially since his reason for leaving the role had to do with scheduling conflicts and not creative differences.
As for Elba, plenty of fans were happy to hear he isn't playing Deadshot, as many of them would rather see him bring fan-favorite character Bronze Tiger to life.
We're really unsure of Gunn's and Warner Bros.' plans for the upcoming film, but with veteran actors like Robbie, Davis and Elba on board, it'll take a lot for the movie to turn out poorly.