Will Smith Exits ‘The Suicide Squad’ Due to Scheduling Conflicts
Will Smith has exited from a planned return in James Gunn’s Suicide Squad sequel (which is, rather confusingly, titled The Suicide Squad) due to scheduling conflicts. It should be noted that Smith is not leaving the DC Films setting, but just won’t be able to appear in this film.
According to Variety, Smith’s busy schedule cost him the opportunity to suit up as Deadshot in a sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad. Both Smith and Warner Bros. wanted him to return alongside co-star Margot Robbie (who plays Harley Quinn) as the stars leading the franchise, but Smith’s commitments to other projects kept him from reprising his role. The split from the project was seen as amicable, and it seems like the door is open for Smith to return in a third film, or a spin-off where his character partakes in a solo mission.
All things considered, this is hardly a crippling blow to the project. The entire concept of the Suicide Squad IP – which has expendable supervillains looking for shorter sentences being sent on suicide missions, allegedly for the greater good of mankind – lends itself well to a rotating cast. However, without an established name like Smith’s leading the movie, it might be a harder sell to international audiences. Aside from Robbie, Angela Bassett, who portrays the team’s ruthless handler Amanda Waller, is also expected to return. It’s ambiguous if other cast members from the first film will return, as only Robbie and Bassett have been rumored.
While the first Suicide Squad was met with hostility from critics, the concept itself was praised for being original, and perhaps under better circumstances behind the scenes (since director David Ayer infamously only had six weeks to rush his movie’s script together) will lead to a movie that’s more well-received. Production on the sequel is expected to begin in the Autumn, meaning that Gunn and company will have to work fast to figure out the new roster, though the script has already had more development time than its immediate predecessor.
The Suicide Squad is set to release on August 6, 2021.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
