The Suicide Squad: New rumor has Idris Elba playing Vigilante
We still don’t know who Idris Elba will play in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, except for that he could be playing a vigilante.
James Gunn made one thing clear — Idris Elba will not replace Will Smith at Deadshot. It’s great news for fans of Smith’s portrayal of the superhero marksman; leaving room for Smith to return to the DCEU someday, as first reported by Variety.
With Deadshot eliminated, fans have been left wondering which DC character Gunn would have Elba play. There are a number of possibilities, especially with the casting of Storm Reid, as his character’s daughter caused a stir. A recasting of Black Spider, Deathstroke, Sportsmaster, and Bronze Tiger were a few names tossed around.
All of the heroes and villains mentioned were, at some point, part of the Suicide Squad. Most of them have children, which helped fans speculate and narrow down the list of possibilities. The latest rumors surrounding James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad have Elba playing an unknown DC character, Vigilante.
The name, Vigilante may not ring a bell to most casual fans. He’s not a staple in the world of DC Comics, and he hasn’t been featured as part of the Suicide Squad. On the other hand, the name will ring a bell for fans of the CW series Arrow. On Arrow, he was a former police officer Vincent Sobel, who survived the particle accelerator explosion to become Vigilante. The (anti)hero didn’t last long on the show, but he was cool to watch in live-action. Now, we may have a chance to see him again, this time in the DCEU.
Who is DC Comics’ Vigilante?
In the pages of DC Comics, there’s more than one version of Vigilante. Adrian Chase, a district attorney, needed a way to fight crime outside the restrictions of the law. So he traded in one suit for another and became the first Vigilante. He originally used non-lethal tactics, but that changed as his mental health depleted. After he quit, others took on the mantle including his deadly friend Allen, a former GCPD Patricia and his brother, Dorian.
However, don’t expect Elba to play the Vigilante DC Comics saw debut in 1941 or any we’ve seen at least before 2016. CBR’s Meagan Damore gave a summary of the latest version of DC’s Vigilante, which could be the version that influences the backstory of Elba’s rumored character:
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"“ The Vigilante: Southland” is the story of Donny Fairchild, a failed NBA player who’s just making ends meet as a maintenance man. When his girlfriend stumbles on a conspiracy to steal water rights through a series of shady land-development deals, she’s mysteriously murdered.Once Donny starts getting too close to the cause of her death, his house is blown up and he’s left for dead. Determined to bring the killers to justice, Donny undergoes training from an urban legend known as the Eastsider to become a masked vigilante..”"
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With the covert nature of Elba’s role, it makes sense for him to play a character that’s fresh in the pages of DC Comics. A former athlete who takes up the superhero mantle makes sense. Donny’s comic book history is vague enough to allow creative freedom. Elba’s presence on-screen with a star-studded cast brings name recognition to a character many fans are unfamiliar with. The Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 6, 2021.