One Of The Main 'Suicide Squad' Stars Is Not Coming Back For The Sequel

The crew will not entirely be back together when the Suicide Squad sequel drops. Although Suicide Squad 2 is officially a go, with a set release date and director, one of the original movie's biggest stars is reportedly not going to reprise his lead role for the upcoming follow-up. Fans wondering will Will Smith be in Suicide Squad 2 just got their answer, because Variety has reported that Smith is not returning for the new movie.

Will Smith starred as Deadshot in 2016's Suicide Squad, an preternaturally gifted marksman who uses his powers as an assassin in order to provide for his daughter. Smith was undoubtedly the biggest name to star in Suicide Squad, and his character of Deadshot lead the movie alongside Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, so this news that he will not be returning for the next movie will likely come as a shock to fans. According to Variety's sources, Smith was unable to return for the sequel simply because of scheduling, and there is no bad blood between Smith and the studio or anything like that.

Prior to Suicide Squad's release in August of 2016, there were several new stories focused on the cast's bonding during production. In particular, the stars of the movie all gave one another matching tattoos that said "skwad." There have also been rumblings about Will Smith possibly helming a Deadshot solo movie following Suicide Squad, but nothing has firmed up involving that as of yet.

Looking at Will Smith's upcoming films, it is pretty clear that he would have trouble fitting in another big-budget superhero movie right now. He will next appear as the Genie in the live-action remake of Aladdin, followed by the animated comedy Spies in Disguise and starring with himself in the cloning action flick Gemini Man. In addition, Smith is also set to return to two of his franchise roles, appearing in the upcoming Bright 2 and Bad Boys for Life.

Interestingly enough, Will Smith may not be the only Suicide Squad star to step away from the sequel, because apparently, director James Gunn is looking to relaunch the franchise with a whole new cast of characters. Last month, Gunn was announced as the new director for the Suicide Squad sequel, replacing the original's director David Ayer, and the announcement also claimed that the new movie is being billed as a "relaunch" rather than a sequel, focusing on a mostly new cast.

Although the cast of Suicide Squad 2 is kind of in question right now, DC fans can at least rest assured that they will be seeing a lot more of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn on the big screen. The character will return to star in the spinoff movie Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), which is set to be released on Feb. 7, 2020. Margot Robbie is also in talks to reprise the role in a couple more spinoffs in the works: Gotham City Sirens and an untitled movie about Harley Quinn and the Joker.

Suicide Squad 2 is slated to hit theaters on Aug. 6, 2021.