According to Variety, David Ayer’s upcoming Suicide Squad film may have found its lead antihero. A Good Day to Die Hard and Divergent actor Jai Courtney is in talks for the role of Deadshot, one of the deadliest assassins to grace the DC Comics pages, and one of the longest-tenured members of the all-villain team.
Previous names attached to the film are Will Smith, Tom Hardy, and Jared Leto, who Variety claims are all currently in “various stages of discussions.” We recently heard that Leto was up for the role of the Joker, while The Wolf of Wall Street actress Margot Robbie has reportedly signed on to play his longtime henchwoman and love interest, Harley Quinn.
Hardy is reportedly up for the role of Rick Flagg, a founding member of the team, while Will Smith could be up for the role of Digger Harkness a.k.a. Captain Boomerang. Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Lex Luthor in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, is also in negotiations to join Suicide Squad.
Personally, I was hoping that someone like Hardy or even Jon Bernthal – who was recently rumored for the role – would play Deadshot, but Courtney has proven himself to be a solid action star, not only in the aforementioned projects but in films like Jack Reacher and his recurring role on Starz’ Spartacus series (which, ironically, has given the CW plenty of its superhero series actors, including their Captain Boomerang).
He’s got a strong career ahead of him, with the Divergent sequel Insurgent and Terminator Genisys in 2015, and leading a high-profile comic book film like Suicide Squad could be a great opportunity for him.
Directed by David Ayer, Suicide Squad is scheduled to hit theaters on August 5th, 2016. Tell us, do you think Courtney would make a good Deadshot? Sound off below!
