Before Will Smith, Michael Rowe portrayed the only live-action version of Deadshot on Arrow. But since Smith won’t be returning for the sequel to Suicide Squad, the actor has expressed interest in reprising his role as Floyd Lawton.
Most fans would agree that David Ayer’s 2016 movie was a convoluted mess, and ultimately, a missed opportunity. That being said, Smith’s Deadshot was undeniably one of the things that made Suicide Squad tolerable. But before there were plans to cast the legendary actor in the role, Michael Rowe portrayed Lawton as one of Oliver Queen’s first enemies in Starling City. He then continued to reprise his part several times as an agent of A.R.G.U.S. and a member of the Suicide Squad. As a matter of fact, there were even plans to develop a spinoff show centering around the character, but with Will Smith coming along, the producers had to kill him off, leading to his apparent death by an explosion in season 3.
However, since Will Smith won’t be returning for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, Rowe has revealed in a new interview that he’d love to return as Deadshot in the Arrowverse.
“The fact that Will Smith doesn’t seem to be doing anymore, it might be a greater chance of coming back, but honestly, I have no idea,” Rowe said. “I haven’t been in those conversations, so I don’t really know what goes on. If they wanted to do it and I was free, I’d love to do it. I love playing that character. And I know we had fancy plans for him, but we never got to them, so it feels like unfinished business.”
The actor also explained why it’s so difficult to get his character back into The CW’s multiverse of heroes, saying:
“It certainly popped into my mind when I saw that they were going to do Suicide Squad, I was like, ‘uh-oh, I’m definitely in trouble.’ Then I got the call. Yep, definitely. Okay. That happened as planned.”
Rowe had a brief flashback sequence in season 5, but apparently, the producers had to ask for WB’s permission to put him on just for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, Gunn initially cast Idris Elba to portray Floyd Lawton again in the sequel, but the studio eventually decided to have him play a new character so as to give Smith the opportunity to return in future installments.
Of course, with Arrow coming to a close this year after eight seasons, if Rowe gets to come back one day, the producers will have to find him a new home on Earth-Prime.