ABC/Lorenzo Bevilaqua(LOS ANGELES) — A month after announcing that Idris Elba would replace Will Smith as the sharpshooting assassin Deadshot in the upcoming Suicide Squad sequel, sources tell Variety producers have changed course and decided to eliminate Deadshot from the sequel and cast Elba in a different role.

The details of Elba’s new character, or a reason for the change, have not been revealed, but the move does leave the door open for Smith to possibly come back in future films.

Smith is said to have left the project over scheduling, and not creative differences. Couple that with the fact his Suicide Squad performance was considered a stand-out — by even many harsh critics of the successful comic adaptation — another turn as Deadshot seems even more plausible. 

Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.