DC's The Suicide Squad producer explains why Will Smith's Deadshot isn't in the film. Debuting in 2016 via David Ayer's original Suicide Squad film, the character is one of the standouts in the movie alongside Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and Viola Davis' Amanda Waller. But while the two female characters are brought back in James Gunn's upcoming DCEU project, the villain with a killer aim wasn't.
Granted that there are also several characters from Suicide Squad that weren't brought into the presumed soft reboot/sequel, Smith is arguably the biggest name to be left out. For what it's worth, it's not because the new film doesn't have any use for the character, he could've easily joined the new "suicide squad" that Waller assembled for a fresh mission. Admittedly, there were rumors about why the seasoned actor wasn't recruited to join Gunn's project, including supposed behind-the-scenes drama. That being said, the reason can simply be chalked up to scheduling conflict.
Screen Rant was invited on the set of The Suicide Squad along with other publications where producer Peter Safran broke down the full reason Smith was left out from the movie. He provided context with regard to the selection of characters that return from the original Suicide Squad saying everyone from the 2016 cast wanted to join the new project, primarily because of Gunn. For Smith, however, the timing just wasn't going to work. The Suicide Squad needed to start production on a specific date because Gunn is lined up to do Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, hence, they couldn't accommodate anyone else's schedules.
You said that everybody wanted to come back but Will Smith is not back and I know there was confusion and misinformation when news first broke about Idris' casting, about who he was playing.
Peter Safran: Right.
Was Deadshot ever supposed to be in this movie?
Peter Safran: We discussed it, but it was... I think the 'Will' of it all was really more of a schedule thing than anything else. We knew we had to start shooting in September because, frankly, we knew probably earlier than other people did that James was going to come back and do Guardians. So it was really important that we started shooting when we started shooting, and Will wasn't available. That kind of made it easier all around: what are you going to do? He's not available. So it's also nice to, frankly, help separate it from the first movie, I think, in a greater fashion.
So the character [Idris Elba's Bloodsport] leading the Squad in this central piece of concept art, would that have been Deadshot?
Peter Safran: It could have been. It was certainly a discussion.
Looking back, it seems like it all worked for the better. Idris Elba's Bloodsport, while indirectly a replacement to Deadshot, as per Safran's comments, helps the two films to be more easily distinguished from each other. The question now is whether or not The Suicide Squad will address Deadshot's absence in the new mission. Since it doesn't seem like there's any bad blood between Smith and the people behind the new DCEU film, and if both narratives exist in the same continuity, it's possible that Deadshot returns in potential sequels. Assuming things play out this way, it would be interesting to see Elba and Smith's team-up as Bloodsport and Deadshot.
With just a month to go before The Suicide Squad hits both theaters and HBO Max, it won't be too long before it's revealed how exactly the film relates to its predecessor. Marketing for the upcoming project has revealed very little about plot specifics, opting to focus on the fun dynamic among the new gang of villains and their wild quirks. Given this, there's barely any indication if despite not appearing, Smith's Deadshot at least factors in it. Whatever the case may be, at least now it's clear that there's no drama behind his absence in the Gunn-directed The Suicide Squad.
