Earlier this week we brought word that Tom Hardy had departed Warner Brothers’ SUICIDE SQUAD, with Jake Gyllenhaal reportedly being lined up to replace the MAD MAX star. Hardy was on board to play Rick Flag in David Ayer’s villain centric movie. Now comes some news on the reason for Hardy’s departure.

It’s being reported by Latino Review that the actual reasoning for Hardy deciding against the project is down to the script and the amount of screen time that his character had. Despite having an impressive ensemble cast signed on for the film, it’s believed that none of the actors were given a script for the film when they agreed their deals. The latest script that Hardy was given was said to feature some heavy changes to the Rick Flag character (seemingly more than just dropping a G) and also saw his screen time dramatically reduced. The Latino Review report goes on to say that the screen time for The Joker and Deadshot has been upped in this latest draft, with some of the lesser known villains seeing their screen time reduced as a result.

Still on board for the film are Jared Leto as The Joker, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Will Smith as Deadshot, Jai Courtney as Boomerang, Care Delevingne as Enchantress, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller.

To be directed by END OF WATCH’s David Ayer, SUICIDE SQUAD is currently set for an August 5th, 2016 release. As for Hardy, he’ll be seen next in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD.

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