Warner Bros. confirmed that Will Smith, Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Cara Delevingne and Jared Leto have joined the cast of "Suicide Squad," the DC Comics film that David Ayer will direct for the studio. According to Variety, Warner Bros. isn't done hiring just yet: The studio wants Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer or Oprah Winfrey to play Amanda Waller, a character who fills a role similar to Marvel's Nick Fury in the DC Comics universe.
Announced as part of Warner Bros.' massive DC Comics slate back in October, "Suicide Squad" focuses on a group of supervillains thrown together by the government to execute high-risk missions (hence the team moniker). Hardy will star as Rick Flagg (sometimes styled as Rick Flag), leader of the Suicide Squad. Smith will play Deadshot, an enemy of Batman and expert sniper. Courtney is Boomerang, an adversary for The Flash. Delevingne is Enchantress. Leto and Robbie will play, respectively, The Joker and Harley Quinn.
"We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under Ayer's amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero," Warner Bros. president of creative development and worldwide production Greg Silverman said in a statement to THR. "Suicide Squad" is out Aug. 5, 2016, five months after "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" arrives in theaters. As Deadline.com noted, Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Lex Luthor in "Dawn of Justice," was not announced as part of "Suicide Squad." (Maybe he'll just make a surprise cameo.)