Kinnaman will star as Rick Flagg alongside Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto in David Ayer’s movie
Joel Kinnaman will replace Tom Hardy as Rick Flagg in Warner Bros.’ comic book adaptation “Suicide Squad,” multiple individuals with knowledge of the project have told
TheWrap. Warner Bros. had no comment, while representatives for Kinnaman did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Hardy was forced to exit the project due to scheduling issues with Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “The Revenant,” which is currently in production, as well as upcoming promotional duties for WB’s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” which comes out on May 15. “Suicide Squad” is expected to start production in April. Agency sources tell TheWrap that Kinnaman is in negotiations for the coveted role of Flagg, who is the leader of a group of supervillains known as the Suicide Squad.
Director
David Ayer also
flirted with the idea of casting his
“End of Watch” star
Jake Gyllenhaal in the role of Flagg, but that deal ultimately didn’t come together.
“Suicide Squad” is set to co-star
Will Smith as Batman villain Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Cara Delevigne as Enchantress and
Jared Leto as The Joker, as first reported by TheWrap. Meanwhile, Viola Davis is in negotiations to play Amanda Waller and Jesse Eisenberg is in talks to reprise his upcoming role as Lex Luthor.