The Suicide Squad director James Gunn used Idris Elba’s recent birthday to heap praise on the actor, who will feature in the upcoming DC movie as Bloodsport. Gunn took a moment to applaud the actor, not only for his performance in The Suicide Squad, but also for being a damn decent human being.
“I rarely write roles for actors I’ve never met, but I did exactly that for @idriselba in #TheSuicideSquad & couldn’t be happier I did – you went beyond my expectations as an actor AND as a human being. I can’t wait for folks to see you as #Bloodsport. Happy Birthday, my friend!”
Elba has become a Hollywood favorite over the years, with the actor appearing in major franchises such as Star Trek, Fast and Furious, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as performing in smaller, lesser known movies like Netflix’s powerful drama Beasts of No Nation.
Elba will star as Robert DuBois a.k.a. Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad. A convicted felon armed with the most weapons out of any character in the movie, Bloodsport is serving time in prison for shooting Superman with a bullet made of the Man of Steel’s only weakness, Kryptonite. Elba was originally cast as Deadshot, as a replacement for Will Smith from the first movie, but Warner Bros. and director James Gunn eventually decided to have him play a new character instead, and thus enable Smith to return as the character in future should the opportunity arise. Fans have been waiting to see Elba join the world of DC for some time, and, if Gunn is to be believed, it will be well worth it.
After months of speculation, details surrounding James Gunn’s upcoming comic book caper have finally started to seep through. Along with the supervillain black ops team’s roster, as well as some behind the scenes footage from The Suicide Squad, Gunn recently revealed something very promising about his and the studio’s approach to the DC movie, namely that Gunn was left to craft his vision alone. “I can confirm #TheSuicideSquad is 100%, zero interference, no-holds-barred ME,” the director said a few weeks ago.
Thanks to the recent DC FanDome event, we now know that several major characters from 2016’s Suicide Squad will be returning including Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang. Alongside them will be several new faces, with the rest of the team made up of David Mastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher, John Cena as Peacemaker, Flula Borg as Javelin, Nathan Fillion as T.D.K., Peter Capaldi as Thinker, Pete Davidson as Black Guard, Alice Braga as Sol Soria, Sean Gunn as Weasel, Michael Rooker as Savant, Mayling Ng as Mongal, Steve Agee as King Shark and, of course, Elba as Bloodsport.
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is due for release next year, with the movie expected to be a standalone adventure for the members of the team, though specific plot details are currently unknown. Needless to say, don’t get too attached to any of the characters. The Suicide Squad is scheduled to be released in the United States on August 6, 2021. This comes to us from James Gunn’s official Instagram account.
