Like many movies, the first Suicide Squad was a flop in the eyes of critics and at least likable to most of the general audience. At least that’s the takeaway from Rotten Tomatoes as it scored 27% on the Tomatometer and 60% with audiences.
I happened to actually love the first Suicide Squad, except for one casting choice, Will Smith. That casting choice is now being fixed as Idris Elba is slated to replace Smith in the role of Deadshot. I felt Smith was cast in the role based solely on his star power and nothing more. In my estimation, he brought very little to the character and his performance looked more like he was just there to collect his paycheck and be done.
The folks over at i09 seem to think Smith’s return would have been the better move for the franchise.
While Will Smith’s performance as Deadshot was arguably one of Suicide Squad’s few bright spots, the character’s role on the team and the dynamics he often has with Harley Quinn are the sort of great story fodder that make a strong argument for recasting him in order to keep him within the franchise.
Charles Pulliam-Moore – i09
I disagree. There were very few moments throughout the first film where I felt I was watching the character Deadshot. Smith’s performance was just another Will Smith performance. Don’t get me wrong, there are films in which Smith is the absolute best casting choice but as Deadshot, he was dead on arrival.
I think Idris Elba is an excellent choice for the role as he tends to bring the character out and leave himself behind. His performance as Heimdall in the MCU was perfect. Heimdall has long been a favorite of mine in the Marvel Universe and Elba nailed that performance. While there is no guarantee of better performance or interpretation of the Deadshot character from Elba. I do think it’s a better choice and perhaps Suicide Squad 2 will score better across the board.
What do you think of this recasting? Do you agree or disagree with my opinion? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, or Facebook. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.
[button link=”https://io9.gizmodo.com/idris-elba-is-replacing-will-smith-as-deadshot-in-suici-1833109326″ icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: i09[/button]Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
