Will Smithwill not be back to revisit the truly iconic line, “What is this, some kind of Suicide Squad?” in Warner Bros.’ upcoming sequelThe Suicide Squad. The follow-up has been in development ever since the DC movie hit theaters in 2016 and went on to gross an impressive $746.8 million worldwide—and win an Oscar for Best Makeup & Hairstyling. Reviews were unkind to writer/directorDavid Ayer’s film, which reportedly went though serious changes in post-production as Warner Bros. tried to rework the film to fit more in line with the film’s cheerful, “Bohemian Rhapsody”-backed trailer that scored a positive response.
Ayer was maybe possibly going to return at the helm, but first he tackled the Netflix blockbusterBright—which reteamed him with Smith. As Ayer moved on, the studio courtedJaume Collet-Serra(Non-Stop) to take the helm, but he opted to make Disney’sJungle Cruiseinstead. They then enlistedThe AccountantdirectorGavin O’Connorto take the reins, but when theBirds of Preymoviereportedly moved forward with a plot similar to the one O’Connor had planned forSuicide Squad2, he moved on.
Warner Bros. finally gained serious traction on the sequel when they hiredJames Gunnto write and direct, coming off theGuardians of the Galaxyfilmmaker’s firing from Disney. And now, with production onThe Suicide Squadaiming to begin this fall,Varietyreports that Smith has opted not to reprise his role as Deadshot due to scheduling conflicts.
Gunn’s take on the film is said to be something of a reboot, and reports have swirled that not many actors from the first movie will be returning. Variety says the studio always wanted its “biggest stars” like Smith andMargot Robbieto come back, but Smith’s exit is curious. The actor doesn’t currently have anything publicly on his schedule that would prevent him from shooting this fall save for maybe promotional duties on hisAng LeefilmGemini Man,which hits theaters in October. He’s currently filming the long-awaitedBad BoyssequelBad Boys for Life. It’s possible Warner Bros. and/or Gunn actually did want to createThe Suicide Squadfrom the ground up, jettisoning most if not all of Ayer’s cast, and this “scheduling issues” reasoning is a bit of an excuse.
Or perhaps it’s true. It would certainly make sense for Warner Bros. to want Robbie back, as her portrayal of Harley Quinn was the only universally praised aspect of the first movie. The actress is currently shooting her own star-vehicle DC movie—the female-driven team-up filmBirds of Prey—and while her involvement inThe Suicide Squadis unconfirmed as of yet, I’d be surprised if she doesn’t have some part to play in the proceedings.
WithSuicide Squad 2filming due to begin in Atlanta in September, we should learn more soon as the decisions regarding who will and won’t be back have to be made. Have we seen the last ofJai Courtney’s beer-chuggin’ Captain Boomerang?
