One of the many movies to be announced by Warner Bros. and DC Films over the years that failed to gain any sort of traction or momentum before being quietly shelved was a spinoff for Will Smith’s Deadshot. The project was first confirmed to be in development in December 2016, but that was about as far along as it got.
There was never a writer or director attached, and while Smith did say in September 2018 that he was still hoping to reprise the role in a standalone adventure, that was pretty much the last we heard of it. Idris Elba was originally set to replace him as Deadshot in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, before the decision was made to cast him as Bloodsport instead, presumably to leave the door open for the former Fresh Prince to return somewhere down the line.
However, a new rumor claims that not only are the studio once again interested in seeing Floyd Lawton back in the DCEU, but multiple possibilities are reportedly being discussed behind the scenes, including the resurrection of his solo movie, an HBO Max miniseries or a comeback in the third installment of the Suicide Squad franchise.
Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that the A-list megastar was poised for his DCEU return, and it certainly won’t be the last, either. Smith’s standing in the industry may have endured a rocky few years by the lofty standards of the previous two decades, but his star has rebounded significantly thanks to the box office success of Suicide Squad, Aladdin and Bad Boys for Life. One obvious obstacle is that having crossed paths with Ben Affleck’s Batman, Deadshot is technically part of the SnyderVerse, but ignoring the potential and earning power of a comic book blockbuster with Will Smith in the lead would be a foolish idea on the studio’s part.
