Originally published January 15, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
Looks like Tom Hardy will not be returning to the DC movie world after all.
The Hollywood Reporter announced that Hardy has dropped out of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad due to scheduling conflicts. He is currently shooting Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s The Revenant alongside Leonardo DiCaprio which is now looking to overrun. Furthermore, Mad Max: Fury Road opens on May 15th, right in the middle of the Suicide Squad shooting schedule in Toronto (which begins in April) and Warner Bros. will want Hardy to be on the promotional trail around the world.
Not to miss a beat, but it looks like they already have someone else in mind in the form of Nightcrawler star Jake Gyllenhaal.
Gyllenhaal may have been “snubbed” at the Oscars, but The Wrap are reporting that the star has been approached with an offer to take on the role of Rick Flagg. Gyllenhaal and Ayer have worked together previously on End of Watch, but there has been no official confirmation on the casting yet – so this is just speculation at the moment.
Suicide Squad is set for release on August 5th 2016 and will feature a cast that includes Will Smith (Hancock) as Deadshot, Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street) as Harley Quinn, Jared Leto (The Dallas Buyers Club) as The Joker, Jai Courtney (Terminator: Genisys) as Captain Boomerang and Viola Davis (How to get Away with Murder) as Amanda Waller. Jesse Eisenberg (The Double) is expected to reprise his role as Lex Luthor.
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