Will Smith’s Deadshot Movie Reportedly Still on Backburner at Warner Bros.

The status of Will Smith’s Deadshot movie is up in the air following the actor’s Oscars slap of comedian Chris Rock. Will Smith portrayed the DC villain Deadshot in 2016’s Suicide Squad directed by David Ayer. The movie introduced fans to Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Jared Leto’s Joker, with the franchise producing a sequel in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Smith didn’t return for the film, with initial reports speculating that Idris Elba would takeover the Deadshot role. Elba would eventually go on to play Bloodsport. As the Hollywood spotlight remains on Will Smith for his actions at The Oscars, a new report states Warner Bros. had already pushed the actor’s Deadshot solo movie to the back of its DC assembly line.

Rolling Stone reports Warner Bros.’ Deadshot movie was already put on the backburner before Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards. The outlet also reports that Smith’s $20 million price tag is the main reason why there hasn’t been movement on a Deadshot project, with that decision coming down long before this recent controversy. Will Smith has come out with a public apology to Chris Rock, though studios are still being cautious when it comes to collaborating with Smith on future projects.

“Violence in all of its form is poisonous and destructive,” the freshly-minted Oscar winner wrote in his apology to Rock. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.”

His apology adds, “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

A recent poll by Morning Consult shows how public opinion of Smith has dropped significantly following the actor’s altercation at The Oscars. According to Morning Consult’s report, Smith’s favorability rating was just 50 percent — reflective of a 30 percent drop-off from a January 2020 survey.

In addition to the drop in Smith’s popularity, two-thirds of respondents to Morning Consult’s poll indicated that they found Smith’s response to Rock’s joke to be inappropriate. One-quarter found the response appropriate, and nine percent didn’t know or had no opinion on the matter. Also, 49 percent indicated that Smith should have been removed from the Oscars ceremony while only 36 percent supported him staying. Interestingly, Rock’s popularity after the incident sat at around 60 percent. Outside of the popularity drop for Smith, the report had some other interesting data about the incident. Per their report, more Americans were aware of the infamous Oscars slap than most major news events — only Russia’s invasion of Ukraine matched information saturation at 88 percent.

Are you bummed to find out the status of Will Smith’s Deadshot? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!