Idris Elba could soon become a member of the Suicide Squad.
It was recently announced that Will Smith would not be reprising the role of Deadshot in the upcoming James Gunn-helmed Suicide Squad sequel, and the celebrated British star has subsequently been tapped by Warner Bros. to take on the sharpshooting role, multiplesources report.
Gunn, who is writing and directing the high-profile follow-up to the 2016 DC Comics action flick, reportedly met with Elba last week to discuss the project, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Smith — who dropped out of the project due to production scheduling conflicts, Variety reports — led the cast of the first Suicide Squad alongside Margot Robbie, who is currently expected to reprise her role as Harley Quinn in the forthcoming follow-up.
It has not yet been announced which actors other than Robbie, if any, will be returning for the second film, currently slated for release on Aug. 6, 2021.
In the meantime, Elba has more than his fair share of projects already gearing up for release, including the Netflix comedy series Turn Up Charlie and the upcoming Fast and Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw, in which he stars as a gun-toting super villain that should give fans an idea at how he’ll handle the sure-to-be action-packed role as Deadshot.
Elba is also making his Saturday Night Live hosting debut this weekend, and the dapper thespian donned a sharp suit and popped some (enormous) bottles of champagne to celebrate in this hilarious promo NBC released on Wednesday.
For anyone who (nonsensically) didn’t think Elba could pull off the black-tie charm and elegant style needed to play James Bond, this promo should rightly put the final nail in the coffin of that misconception.
Elba hosts SNL on March 9 at 11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT along with musical guest Khalid.
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