Will Smith was the biggest star attached to the DCEU during the early Zack Snyder-driven years of the franchise, but it would be fair to say that they never made the most of his presence. He may have been the de facto leading man in Suicide Squad, but was never given the opportunity to utilize his undeniable charisma, with his performance clearly in the can before the studio decided to lighten the tone.
The gang of antiheroes are currently in the midst of being rebooted by James Gunn, and Smith isn’t involved. Idris Elba was initially announced to be replacing him as Deadshot, before Warner Bros. changed their minds and decided that he would be better off playing a different character instead. Not long after Suicide Squad’s release, the former Fresh Prince admitted that he was still keen on the idea of headlining a solo movie, but there’s been very little word on his DCEU status since then.
However, the shared universe is currently one of WB’s top priorities, with the Snyder Cut of Justice League and Michael Keaton’s return in The Flash opening up an unlimited range of storytelling possibilities, and we’ve now heard that the studio are making a concerted effort to bring Deadshot back into the fold, having flirted with the idea in the past.
According to our intel – which comes from the same sources that told us a Justice League Dark show is coming to HBO Max and Diana will have her Golden Eagle armor in Wonder Woman 1984 – with Smith’s star shining brighter than it has for years following the success of Aladdin and Bad Boys For Life, the Deadshot solo movie is set to be resurrected along with plans to bring him back to play a major role in the third Suicide Squad outing.
Details on his return beyond that remain unclear, but Will Smith is still one of the biggest names in the business, and with the DCEU in the midst of a surge in creativity, the studio would be foolish not to try and tie him down to a multi-picture deal as soon as possible.
