On second thought, maybe we'll just skip putting Deadshot in the next Suicide Squad movie, huh?

By William Hughes | April 5, 2019 | 10:24pm

Aux Features Film

On second thought, maybe we'll just skip putting Deadshot in the next Suicide Squad movie, huh?

Photo: Emma McIntyre

Neatly side-stepping a whole host of awkward comparisons doomed to emerge from its rumored decision to re-cast Will Smith with Idris Elba in the upcoming Suicide Squad sequel, Warner Bros. confirmed today that it’s going to just quietly step back from this whole “Deadshot issue” entirely. Variety reports today that Elba—who might be the only person on the planet who’s actually enthusiastic for a sequel to the 2016 anti-heroic odyssey—will instead be taking on a new character as the franchise continues, rather than stepping into the boots of the preternaturally skilled assassin Smith played with lazy charisma in the original flick.

That decision also means that it’s hypothetically possible that Smith—who dropped out of the James Gunn-helmed sequel due to scheduling conflicts—could still someday return to the franchise, revisiting his chemistry with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, or that guy with the boomerang, or Slipknot. (“Slipknot died in the first one,” we hear you already racing to comment, but isn’t that just what they want us to think?) Meanwhile, there’s no word yet on who Elba will play, or what measures he intends to take to protect his mailbox from whatever fun “treats” Jared Leto decides to inundate the cast with this time. (And no, as far as we know, Leto’s not actually in this one—but when has something like that ever stopped the Clown Prince Of Annoying The Shit Out Of Current And Former Co-Workers, huh?)