The Suicide Squad’s Idris Elba Wants Bloodsport Vs. Superman Prequel

The Suicide Squad introduces a whole load of new characters into the DCEU, with Task Force X getting its ranks replenished with a bunch more reluctant members. And at the head of the team is Robert Du Bois AKA Bloodsport, as played by Idris Elba. Bloodsport has to have the most intriguing backstory of the movie’s characters, too. It’s revealed that he landed himself in Belle Reve after putting Superman in the ICU with a kryptonite bullet.

That’s a pretty huge achievement, so it’s unsurprising that Elba is keen to get the chance to bring this intriguing incident to life. While speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the British star was asked where he wants to do next in the DCEU. Elba revealed that he wouldn’t want to see what happens next to Bloodsport, but instead see what happened to him before the events of the film.

“It wouldn’t be next, it would be what came before,” Elba replied. “I would be really interested to see why he went to jail, why did he shoot Superman? I would love to see that narrative come alive.”

Elba went on to explain that the exact nature of his character wasn’t nailed down at first, but he was hooked by the idea of playing someone tough enough to take down the Man of Steel.

“I didn’t know what character I was playing, but I knew the type of character and I knew the position he played within the storyline,” Elba explained. “So that’s all I needed to understand, and I signed on. But I did know that he was the first guy to put Superman in the hospital because he shot Superman (laughs), and that’s why he’s in jail. That was very intriguing and also became a little bit of a motivation in some of my scenes and my character development.”

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As Elba alludes to in his comments, it’s understood that the actor initially signed on to replace Will Smith as Deadshot, but Warner Bros. and director James Gunn ultimately decided to give him a fresh role to play instead. Nevertheless, there are definitely some similarities with Du Bois and Floyd Lawton. They’re both coaxed into joining the squad because Amanda Waller uses their young daughters as leverage and they both have beef with Justice Leaguers – Deadshot hates Batman, and Bloodsport clearly had a tense run-in with Kal-El.

But could we get to discover the ins and outs of this showdown? Well, John Cena’s coming back for a Peacemaker TV series, again from Gunn. So if that does well on HBO Max next year, then a Bloodsport prequel project could feasibly get the greenlight. In the meantime, catch The Suicide Squad in theaters and on streaming now.