Tom Hardy was one of the mega-wattage names announced to be part of David Ayer's SUICIDE SQUAD, but it looks like Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's THE REVENANT has gone long, and will keep Hardy from participating. That has left the door open for one of Ayer's former collaborators to hop onboard: Jake Gyllenhaal.
Gyllenhaal doesn't have the tough-guy street cred of Hardy, even if he did bulk up (and shave down) for Ayer's END OF WATCH. He doesn't even have 2015 Oscar nomination he was all but guaranteed for his revelatory work in NIGHTCRAWLER. But he is a bigger name, and has already fronted his own action tentpole (even if it was PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME). It'd be interesting to see him get all tough-as-nails and no-nonsense as Flag, especially alongside folks like Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and Jared Leto as The Joker.
Gyllenhaal hasn't signed yet, but Ayer's relationship with the actor might be the key to get him to take his first step into the world of comic-book films. After his (literally) eye-opening work in NIGHTCRAWLER, I'm willing to watch this guy try anything. The more extreme and intense, the better. This sounds more interesting to me than watching Hardy play another inscrutable badass, and would, surprisingly enough, boost the star power of this thing even higher.
We're still waiting on confirmation that Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor will appear, and whether Viola Davis will, indeed, sign a multi-picture deal to star as Dr. Amanda Waller…
What you guys think? BUBBLE BOY as Rick Flag, or should Ayer keep looking?
SUICIDE SQUAD shows that here, in this world, the bad guys can win on August 5th, 2016.
