Despite being based on a niche comic book and starring a cast of characters who are total unknowns to most people, Suicide Squad is quickly shaping up to be one of the most intriguing superhero movies on our radar. Much of our interest comes from the cast director David Ayer has assembled for his supervillain-themed men-on-a-mission tale. Even with Tom Hardy dropping out, the film is still set to feature Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto and Viola Davis (and, sigh, Jai Courtney), which makes this one of the nuttiest ensembles ever assembled. Now, Ayer is looking to plug that Tom Hardy-shaped hole with Joel Kinnaman.

The news comes to us via The Hollywood Reporter, who say that Kinnaman is in talks for the role of Rick Flagg following a strong audition. After some of the names that were previously rumored to take over for Hardy (including Jake Gyllenhaal and Jason Clarke), this may seem like a minor letdown. After all, part of the fun of watching Suicide Squad come together has been seeing just how many major names and recognizable faces Ayer and Warner Bros. could throw into the mix. Kinnaman is certainly not an unknown, but solid work on The Killing and unmemorable work in the RoboCop remake (where he was the least of the film’s problems) do not a movie star make. Still, it’s hard to have anything against a guy when you’ve barely seen him in anything. For all we know, this could be the movie where we start to fall in love with Joel Kinnaman.

It could also be the movie where we finally learn why Jai Courtney keeps getting cast in things. Because why? Why?!

We still don’t know much about how Rick Flagg figures into the plot of Suicide Squad, but his comic book counterpart is the founder and leader of the titular team of supervillains. The most likely scenario is him playing the “straight man” to Smith’s Deadshot, Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Leto’s Joker, adding some normalcy to a team made up of lunatics and villains. Even if Kinnaman is a slightly dull choice, a slightly dull presence may be necessary to help balance out the psychotic clowns and such.

Suicide Squad will begin filming this April for an August 5, 2016 release date.

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