Last week, it was revealed that Suicide Squad star Will Smith would not be reprising the role of Deadshot in James Gunn’s upcoming sequel/reboot The Suicide Squad. Now it seems that this weekend’s Saturday Night Live host, Idris Elba, could very well replace the Fresh Prince star following a meeting with Gunn that went “swimmingly.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, it seems the Turn Up Charlie actor and Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director hit it off immediately during a face-to-face meeting last week:
Sources say that Elba met with Gunn on Friday and it went so swimmingly that talks began with the studio in earnest. Elba was the first and only choice for Gunn and the studio.
Last summer, Gunn was fired from the third Guardians film by Disney following the rediscovery of several controversial tweets. That film has been delayed extensively, though it will reportedly stick to Gunn’s original script. Meanwhile, DC and Warner Bros. quickly brought him on to write (and most likely direct) the followup to David Ayer’s 2016 movie Suicide Squad.
Now it seems, per THR, that Warner and DC are so happy with Gunn’s work on The Suicide Squad “that the project is barrelling forward into the casting stage.” Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn probably won’t be a part of the mix due to her own spinoff film, but it seems Gunn will be utilizing many previously unused DC characters for his sequel.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)