'Suicide Squad' Release Date, Cast Latest News: Jake Gyllenhaal Turns Down Role In New Movie

Suicide Squad fans may be surprised to learn that the casting for character Rick Flagg is proving harder than first anticipated.

First actor Tom Hardy dropped the role, and then it was announced almost immediately after, that Jake Gyllenhaal was being seriously considered. It was recently reported by Variety that the actor opted out for the role of the lead character in "Suicide Squad".

With the production of his new movie "Southpaw", Gyllenhaal has appeared in amazing shape, making him a perfect fit for the character.

As the reason wasn't announced, it has been speculated it might have been because of time constraints. Along with "Southpaw", the actor has two other movies dropping in 2015 - "Everest" and "Demolition".

This shouldn't be an area of too much concern, as DC are reportedly considering many other actors for the role.

"A source with knowledge of the project has told us that Suicide Squad is now looking at Joel Edgerton and Jon Bernthal for the role of Rick Flag. Bernthal's name actually was floated for a possible role in the ensemble feature in November, so it's possible that director David Ayer has just continued to lobby for him. Ayer worked with Bernthal on the WWII tank drama Fury, which came out last year. If Ayer was going to bring anybody along with him, Bernthal would make sense," writes Cinema Blend.

DC still wants to sell the movie on it's impressive cast so the next candidate will have to match up to the film's current stars - Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney and Cara Delevingne.

Whatever the studio ends up on should be fine, as they still have a good amount of time between production for the film in April.

The movie is still scheduled for release in August 5th, 2016.