Suicide Squad has a disappointingly low score of 27 on Rotten Tomatoes. But its audience score is a more respectable 60 per cent. Despite the disappointing critical response, another Suicide Squad movie is in the pipeline.
Is Will Smith returning to the Suicide Squad sequel?
According to Variety, a source has claimed Smith will not be in Suicide Squad 2.
Warner Bros never confirmed which actors from the first film would be reprising their roles.
Smith himself had not confirmed returning to the franchise.
Variety reported that “insiders say the studio has always wanted its biggest stars like Smith and Margot Robbie, who played Harley Quinn in the first pic, to return while figuring out other casting decisions along the way”.
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They added: “Sources say scheduling was the ultimate factor and that the decision was made on amicable terms between both sides with no hard feelings.”
Of course, this doesn’t bode well for Warner Bros, whose DC Comics adaptations have been hit and miss.
The critics’ consensus for 2016’s Suicide Squad reads: “Suicide Squad boasts a talented cast and a little more humour than previous DCEU efforts, but they aren’t enough to save the disappointing end result from a muddled plot, thinly written characters, and choppy directing.”
Smith played Deadshot, aka Floyd Lawton, an expert marksman and assassin, in the first film.
Despite the disappointing reviews, Suicide Squad performed well at the box office.
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Box office success is often reason enough for studios to make sequels.
But with Suicide Squad, plenty will need to change to bring fans back to the cinemas.
They have it in the form of screenwriter James Gunn, famous for penning Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel.
Gunn was fired by Disney after distasteful old Tweets surfaced.
Gunn is reportedly making Suicide Squad into a reboot, rather than a sequel.
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So far, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto are reported returning as Harley Quinn and the Joker respectively.
Joel Kinnaman told The Hollywood Reporter he expects to reprise his role as government agent Rick Flag.
But if Gunn’s sequel is indeed a full reboot, many of these actors may not appear in it at all.
Dave Bautista, however, is already campaigning to join the cast.
Suicide Squad 2 will be out in cinemas on August 6, 2021.