SUICIDE SQUAD - Joel Edgerton, Jon Bernthal, and Gary Sinise Rumors
Strap in, comic book movie lovers, because there's a lot to get through in this latest update about David Ayer's Suicide Squad. We know that WB has been having a bit of a tough time casting the role of Rick Flag, one of the main characters who will join Will Smith (Deadshot), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Jared Leto (The Joker), Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), and Cara Delevingne (Enchantress). Tom Hardy was initially in place to star, but when he left, Jake Gyllenhaal was being eyed as his replacement. But Gyllenhaal passed yesterday, so the producers are looking to get someone else in place quickly.
CinemaBlend reports that Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty, Warrior) and Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead) are being looked at to play Flag. We know that this character won't have as much screen time as some of the others in this film - read the spoilery plot details here - but this is still an important role. Bernthal recently worked with David Ayer on Fury, so normally I'd give him the edge in this situation, but Gyllenhaal also worked with Ayer on End of Watch and he ended up passing, so the element of those guys having a pre-existing working relationship is not always an indicator that someone will take the role. Ultimately, I'd be fine with either of these guys in the role — they've both done solid work elsewhere, so jumping into a superhero film seems like the natural next step in their careers.
In addition to that news, El Mayimbe at Latino-Review tweeted the following yesterday morning:
The folks at CinemaBlend say the same source that gave them the scoop on Edgerton and Bernthal also said that Gary Sinise has landed a role in the movie, but it isn't General Eiling or Deathstroke. They circulate another unconfirmed rumor that Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello is up for the role of Deathstroke, which sounds great to me, but again, it's all unconfirmed at this time.
We shouldn't have to wait very long to figure out the truth of what's happening here, since the film will need to go into production relatively soon in order to meet its already-announced release date of August 5th, 2016. What do you think?