To recast or not to recast. This dilemma was the question for “The Suicide Squad,” and Will Smith’s role as Deadshot until about thirty minutes ago. Smith bowed out of the ‘Suicide Squad’ part last week, and there was speculation whether Warner Bros. would recast or simply pivot towards new characters. We have our answer now as Idris Elba is being recast in the role of the assassin Floyd Lawton aka, Deadshot, a man who often carries a death wish with him wherever he goes.
Given that Elba is now down with his Thor role in the Marvel movies—the Asgardian character of Heimdall killed in “Avengers: Infinity War”—he’s a free agent and its perfect time for him to switch teams and move over to DC Films. The timing is rather impeccable given that “The Suicide Squad” director James Gunn is also switching over from Marvel to DC and it should be seen as something of a coup for the company and their seemingly on-the-mend universe.
While not 100% official, Elba was Gunn’s first choice and talks have apparently gone very well. Recasting makes more sense given Gunn is essentially rebooting and overhauling most of the “Suicide Squad” cast anyhow; the movie is said to be a kind of do-over, but will still feature Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and possibly Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney). The latter actor/character is not official, but Boomerang/Courtney was well received in the 2016’s David Ayer-directed “Suicide Squad” that itself was met with mostly mixed to negative reviews.
“The Suicide Squad” has an Aug. 6, 2021 release date and while “scheduling issues” were said to be the problem at the time, that sounds dubious given the film has at least a year to shoot. More likely, the particular actor just decided to bow out when the filmmaker and direction of the project shifted. It was a hard sell to get him in the first place and with Ayer gone, and Smith not really a terrific role in the first place, Elba will be a welcome addition to the revamped “Suicide Squad.” [THR]
