Idris Elba Could Replace Will Smith in 'Suicide Squad 2'
by EG
James Gunn is definitely intent on upping Warner Bros' DC Comics game. After losing Will Smith for the sequel to Suicide Squad, director Gunn has reportedly convinced another (arguably bigger) star to replace him. Read on for details.
Idris Elba is in talks to replace Will Smith in the Suicide Squad sequel being put together by filmmaker James Gunn and Warner Bros., sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.
The move follows last week's exit of Smith, who, along with Margot Robbie, led the ensemble of the 2016 movie and played assassin anti-hero Deadshot.
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.
Warners is extremely high on The Suicide Squad and its script, written by Gunn — so much so that the pic is barrelling forward into the casting stage after Gunn quickly turned out several drafts. Before his boarding, the project ambled for a couple of years with a revolving door of writers and directors.
Gunn is said to be using mostly DC characters who did not appear in David Ayer's 2016 film, although several are expected to return, including Deadshot, Harley Quinn and Rick Flagg, originally played by Joel Kinnaman, say sources. Another source, however, says Flagg is no longer in the follow-up.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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