Will Smith is saying goodbye to “Suicide Squad” — and Idris Elba is ready to take his place.
That’s the news coming from the Hollywood Reporter, which maintains that the “Luther” star is in discussions to replace Smith, who left the DC Comics franchise last week, as elite assassin Deadshot in the upcoming sequel.
According to THR, sources claim that Elba met with director James Gunn, who’s been tapped to direct the “Suicide Squad” sequel after his firing from Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, and things went so well that “talks began with the studio in earnest.”
That, notes THR, is exceptionally good news for Warner Bros., which considered Elba to be “the first and only choice” for the role after Smith’s exit.
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THR also reports that the studio is thrilled with Gunn’s script, and has already started casting for the project, which will reportedly use a number of DC characters that didn’t appear in the original film (Deadshot and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn are said to be returning, while differing sources dispute whether Joel Kinnaman’s Flag will appear in the sequel).
While nothing is official, fans will have plenty of opportunities to see Elba in the next little while. Ahead of the March 15 debut of his new Netflix sitcom, “Turn Up Charlie”, 2018’s “Sexiest Man Alive” will also be hosting “Saturday Night Live” on Saturday, March 9, airing at 8:30 p.m. PT/11:30 p.m. ET on Global.
