The Suicide Squad Considered Bringing Will Smith's Deadshot Back

The Suicide Squad is setting out to make a film which has nothing tying it to its 2016 predecessor beyond some of its cast members reprising roles from the original movie. Viola Davis is back as Amanda Waller, Margot Robbie returns as Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman returns as Rick Flag, and Jai Courtney is back for Captain Boomerang but there was almost one more key member of that original Squad who came back: Will Smith as Deadshot. While it doesn't seem like the consideration to have Smith reprise the Floyd Lawton role was taken very far, The Suicide Squad producer told members of the press on the film's set that there was "certainly a discussion" about bringing the actor back to the DC movie world.

According to Safran, Smith's Deadshot, "could have been," a character who returned and took on a leadership role for this new film directed by James Gunn. "It was certainly a discussion."

Once upon a time, there was a Deadshot movie that was said to be in development at Warner Brothers. It has not come to fruition. It is unclear, right now, whether or not Will Smith will ever return to the role.

"We discussed it," Safran admitted of Smith's potential return in The Suicide Squad. "But I think the Will [Smith] 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, and 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."

As the story goes, this new The Suicide Squad will have nothing "tangible" to connect it to the previous film according to the producer. "We just don't address it any tangible form," Safran said. "Yes, they're the characters, the actors that played them in the first movie. But we really wanted to make sure that this stands on its own two feet. So again, it's why you can't really call it... It's not a sequel, but there are some characters that were in the first movie, right? So it's not really a full reboot either. So we just call it James Gunn's The Suicide Squad."

Do you want to see Will Smith return as Deadshot? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram! The Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 6.