One of the first major announcements regarding James Gunn’s reboot/sequel The Suicide Squad was the confirmation that Will Smith wouldn’t be returning as Deadshot, and while it was originally claimed that Idris Elba would be replacing him in the movie, it turned out that Elba was set to play a new character instead.
Along with Jared Leto, Smith is the biggest name from the original cast that isn’t returning for the follow-up, but that doesn’t mean that his time as part of the DC Extended Universe is over. In fact, sources close to We Got This Covered – the same ones who told us Tom Welling was returning in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” which was confirmed this week – have informed us that Warner Bros. are keen for the former Fresh Prince to return to the franchise somewhere down the line, possibly in Gotham City Sirens should the project ever actually get off the ground, his own solo movie, or even an appearance in Suicide Squad 3.
After all, it wasn’t as if Smith simply refused to return for the sequel, as it was scheduling conflicts that forced him to pass. The actor is still one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and has just come off the biggest hit of his career in Disney’s Aladdin, so there’s little chance that the studio are going to pass up the opportunity to bring him back into the fold.
Signing on to any big budget comic book blockbuster usually entails a multi-picture contract, so there’s the possibility that the Gemini Man star could still be tied to the DCEU as part of his deal, or maybe Warner Bros. are simply keen to capitalize on his box office appeal and star power in an effort to draw in bigger audiences as they attempt to rehabilitate the franchise’s reputation in the eyes of both fans and critics after a difficult few years.
If a major studio has the opportunity to use Will Smith in one of their marquee genre flicks, though, then you can guarantee that they’re going to do it.