The officials over at Warner Bros. apparently have their eyes on Idris Elba to play Deadshot in the next Suicide Squad film, according to a report by Variety.

Smith had to move away from the upcoming DC movie because of his dates and other scheduling conflicts, said the report. The studio apparently didn’t want to waste any time to resolve the issue and decided to re-cast, with Elba being their first choice for the role. 

Will Smith played the role of Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot, a villain who is considered to be the world’s greatest shooter and someone who boasts of never missing a shot. 

According to THR, the new script, written by James Gunn, has “big plans” for Deadshot, with Gunn drawing from some of the character’s classic comic book runs from the 80s. It was recently announced that Guardians of the Galaxy director, James Gunn will be writing and directing the Suicide Squad sequel, after being sacked by Disney and Marvel for his remarks on twitter. 

The release date for the film is currently set for August 6, 2021.