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SUICIDE SQUAD Stars Will Smith and Margot Robbie Discuss the Process of Recasting Rick Flagg

Will Smith and Margot Robbie’s new movie, Focus, is hitting theaters later this month. But the two actors won’t wait long to reteam, as they are both set to star in DC Entertainment’s Suicide Squad as Deadshot and Harley Quinn, respectively. That film is scheduled to begin shooting in April, but one role that has to be recast is Rick Flagg, who was going to be played by Tom Hardy before the actor dropped out. Jake Gyllenhaal later passed on the role, while Joel Edgerton, Jon Bernthal and Karl Urban have been rumored to be in consideration.

While we wait for an official announcement – according to Latino-Review’s El Mayimbe, a new actor is expected to be locked down this week – Smith and Robbie have commented on the process of recasting Flagg. During an interview with USA Today, Smith affirms that, “We’ve still got to get it right.” 


Robbie then states, “This happens all the time. People act like, ‘Oh my god, the movie must be ending!’ It’s just the deal with movies.” She goes on to say that, “a lot of the characters haven’t been portrayed before so it’s a pretty big undertaking. And it’s a big undertaking for the people who are going to play the characters who have been played, like the Joker (Jared Leto). It’s big shoes to fill.” 


As for why it has been difficult to cast Rick Flagg, Smith mentions a few potential factors. According to the actor, writer-director David Ayer “turned the screenplay in before Christmas. What happens is Hollywood shuts down. But he was still working and he wanted to (start shooting) April 13th. So it takes a couple weeks to gear back up at the top of the year and people have taken (other) movies. He’s moving really quickly.” Adds Robbie, “It’s almost impossible to get a movie all together when there are two main cast members, let alone an ensemble cast with everyone’s schedules. It’s crazy if it works out.” Finally, the two actors affirm that they have begun “intense” workout sessions for the supervillain film.

Suicide Squad is scheduled to hit theaters August 5th, 2016. The third installment in the DC Cinematic Universe stars Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Cara Delevingne and Jared Leto. David Ayer writes and directs.

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WOBAM! Entertainment.