Will Smith was originally tied to a Suicide Squad sequel. He once again affirms that it was scheduling conflicts that put off the return.
The Suicide Squad brought back a few iconic characters from the first movie and then some. But a major name that was missing was Will Smith and his on-screen Deadshot.
However, this wasn’t always the case. Before the release of Suicide Squad (2016), Smith was set to reprise his role in the sequel that had already been slated. Although the movie underperformed, the sequel was greenlit but faced several delays, including the departure of director David Ayer and the actors’ conflicting schedules.
Then when James Gunn was called on board in 2018, several changes were made to the story that made the rendition more like a standalone albeit still set in the history of the original Suicide Squad.
When filming was finally ready to begin, Smith was filming for King Richard and ultimately chose to leave The Suicide Squad. Idris Elba was initially roped in as a replacement but found a better calling as Bloodsport. The rest, you know, is history.
In a recent video for GQ where Will Smith goes “undercover” on the internet, he affirms the above situation. Have a look:
A fan tweet poses the question of why the sequel did not include Deadshot, to which Smith simply replies that he was already shooting another movie and couldn’t commit.
However, what surprises the actor is that Deadshot has not yet been replaced as he earlier believed. Now knowing that Elba is playing a different character, Smith also expresses that there is room for his Deadshot to make a comeback.
In the end, Smith’s departure helped to frame a fresh take on the Suicide Squad. The movie’s producer Peter Safran had earlier also expressed that they didn’t press Smith on to stay for the role.
The character still exists within the film’s universe, but the exclusion was a good way of distancing The Suicide Squad from the original.
So, it was really important that we started shooting when we started shooting and Will wasn’t available, and that kind of made it easier all around. What are you going to do? He’s not available. So it’s also nice to, frankly, help separate it from the first movie, I think, in a greater fashion.
Peter Safran
In any case, we know that Deadshot is still out there, and Will Smith is willing to play him again. Of course, if (keyword) schedule permits.
About The Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics team of the same name. Produced by DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, and The Safran Company, and set for distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is intended to be a standalone sequel to Suicide Squad (2016) and the tenth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).
Directed and written by James Gunn, the cast includes Idris Elba, Viola Davis, Sylvester Stallone, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, Joel Kinnaman, Margot Robbie, John Cena, Mayling Ng, Sean Gunn, Taika Waititi, David Dastmalchian, Storm Reid, Alice Braga, Pete Davidson, Jennifer Holland, Flula Borg, Daniela Melchior, Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, Julio Cesar Ruiz.
The movie’s official synopsis reads, “Welcome to hell – aka Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out – even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X.”
Source: Youtube
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