With James Gunn still firmly in the director's chair to make The Suicide Squad, the casting process had begun to ramp up. Even though this film will represent a reboot of the story, there are characters already expected to return, including Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and Jai Courtney's Captain Boomerang. Add to that list Viola Davis, who will return as Amanda Waller, the cunning government agent who proposes rounding up villains and using them for covert, life-threatening missions.
She'll be back to gather the team once again in Gunn's scripted version, but it also appears there will be a key change this time that we didn't see coming. While Idris Elba had been reported as playing Deadshot (taking over from Will Smith, who had stepped away because of scheduling issues), Variety now reports that all involved have agreed he'll play a different character from the Squad world. Who exactly has yet to be announced, but it apparently is a way to show respect for Smith's contribution to the first film and to leave the door open for a potential future return. The report also walks back the idea that Elba was always going to be Deadshot, something Warner Bros. hadn't formally announced.
Gunn is gathering the rest of the cast now, aiming to kick off shooting in the autumn ready for an August 2021 release date. The Suicide Squad is shaping up to be a weird hybrid of the first film and a completely new one, and we won't deny that we're fascinated to see what shape it ends up in.
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