DIRECTOR James Gunn is breathing new life into DC’s Suicide Squad, five years after the first film.
Half sequel, half reboot, The Suicide Squad movie is adding some new supervillains to the gang.
Who plays Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad 2?
Idris Elba is known to many as Detective Luther, but this summer he’s set to find himself on the wrong side of the law.
Elba is stepping into the shoes of Bloodsport, a contract killer who, as we hear in the trailer, put Superman into the ICU using a Kryptonite bullet!
Although this will be Bloodsport’s first big screen debut, the character dates all the way back to 1987.
Bloodsport made his first appearance in Superman Vol 2 #4, a comic book that hit shelves in April of that year.
In the comic, we learn that Bloodsport’s real name is Robert DuBois, and that the crazed hitman was hired by Superman’s archenemy Lex Luthor – but even Lex couldn’t stomach how violent Bloodsport was, and ditched him by the end.
If that’s anything to go off, the character’s set to be a perfect addition to Gunn’s ultra violent and gory movie.
What has Idris Elba said about playing Bloodsport?
Elba told Den of Geek that when Director James Gunn first approached him for the role, he was pretty coy about who he’d be playing – and even what film it was.
Elba said: “James Gunn reached out to me and said that he had this project he wanted to work on and didn’t tell me what it was. We had a meeting pretty late at night.”
Despite the unconventional casting process, Elba was drawn in by Gunn’s pitch, and quickly signed on to play the obscure villain.
Elba says that, although his character has been around for more than thirty years, he’ll be putting his own, new spin on the supervillain.
The Brit actor said: “There was a little bit of leniency between myself and James collaboratively just working it (the character) out.
“I felt very involved in that process, so essentially I got to bring him to life the way I wanted to.”
What other films has Idris Elba been in?
Elba started his career in theatre, but the Brit has gone on to become a box office favourite.
In 2007, he snagged a bit part in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster and appeared in zombie movie 28 Weeks Later.
That same year, he got the chance to star opposite Beyonce in Obsessed – though the film was slammed with negative reviews.
In 2011, Elba stepped into the world of superheroes for the first time after being cast as Heimdall in Thor.
The following year, Elba’s turn as Nelson Mandela in Mandela:Long Walk To Freedom earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
After that, his film career began to skyrocket – the Brit returned to his Marvel role several times, and even tried his hand at voice acting in Finding Dory, Zootopia and The Jungle Book.
But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing since then – in 2019, Elba appeared in the widely mocked Cats adaptation, a role in which he horrified audiences after appearing as nude feline Macavity.
However, things are looking up for the actor.
As well as appearing in Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, fans can look forward to Elba appearing in The Jungle Book 2 and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.
