It looks as though Will Smith will not be part of James Gunn‘s ‘The Suicide Squad’, a followup to the 2016 DC Comics movie from Warner Brothers. Scheduling conflicts seem to be the culprit, and the decision is said to be amicable. Even though ‘The Suicide Squad’ is said to be a reimagining more than a straight-forward sequel, Warner Brothers reportedly wanted the first film’s biggest stars, Smith and Margot Robbie, to return. Last we heard, Jared Leto will not be back as The Joker ever again.
Unlike Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, which employs actors that are recognizable but not megastars with mega salaries, Warner Brothers went in the opposite direction by banking on the likes of Smith and Ben Affleck. In fact, at one point, the plan was to follow ‘Suicide Squad’ with a movie in which either Smith would serve as the main villain against Affleck’s Batman, or in which the pair would team up. But as we know, Affleck is out of the DCU completely. But the fact that the decision for Smith to sit out ‘The Suicide Squad’ was amicable, may mean that he could return further down the line.
Directed by David Ayer, the first ‘Suicide Squad’ made $746 million worldwide, which is an impressive amount, but the film was very expensive to produce (about $175 million) and was panned by critics and viewers. While Robbie’s Harley Quinn was a breakout star, Smith’s subdued performance as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot sort of slipped under the radar.
After Gunn was fired by Disney, Warner Brothers was quick to snatch up the maestro behind the beloved ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies to work his magic with a quirky ragtag collection of DC characters. While it sounds as though Harley Quinn will be included, it’s unknown if any other characters from the first film will be back. Among the other stars were Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Jay Hernandez as Diablo, and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg. Cara Delevingne’s Enchantress was the main villain. In the comics, literally, dozens of characters have been part of the Suicide Squad at one time or another, so Gunn has a large assortment to choose from.
How do you feel about Will Smith not returning? Will that hurt… or help… the new movie?
‘The Suicide Squad’ is scheduled for release on August 6, 2021.
Source: Variety
