Will Smith Says He Could Return As The DCEU’s Deadshot

No offense to Idris Elba, who finally found a Hollywood blockbuster that maximizes his gruff charisma and hard-edged intensity in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, but you can’t help but feel the entire role of Bloodsport was only written into the movie because Will Smith didn’t return as Deadshot.

In fact, when casting news first started circulating, it was implied that Elba would be replacing Smith as Floyd Lawton, before the confusion was swiftly cleared up. Looking at his skills, personality, difficult relationship with his daughter and status as the unofficial leader of Task Force X, it wouldn’t have taken much of a rewrite to have Robert DuBois replace the first installment’s expert assassin in the script.

Producer Peter Safran admitted that scheduling conflicts were one of the major reasons Smith didn’t return for The Suicide Squad, but in a recent interview with GQ, the actor reveals he could return after discovering his character wasn’t part of the story at all.

“They left out Deadshot, right? All right, cool, so I can come back.”

While that would seem to blow a hole in many rumors regarding Smith’s rampant desire to return to the DCEU in a major capacity when he wasn’t sure if Deadshot was even in The Suicide Squad until somebody told him, it does mean that we can cross our fingers in the hopes the former Fresh Prince will suit up once again should a third outing for Task Force X be given the green light.