Will Smith shares intel on casting Rick Flagg

Andrea Mandell | USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — What the heck is going on with Rick Flagg?

With Suicide Squad's April start date looming, the supervillain-centric flick can't seem to land a field leader.

"We've still got to get it right," Will Smith tells USA TODAY, during an interview on Monday with his Focus co-star Margot Robbie. Coincidentally, both stars of this month's caper dramedy have nabbed roles in Suicide Squad: Smith as Batman villain Deadshot and Robbie as the Joker's psychotic girlfriend, Harley Quinn.

A brief history: Tom Hardy was originally scheduled to take on Rick Flagg and head the group of powerful convicts in the Warner Bros. action flick, but he dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Then Jake Gyllenhaal was rumored to be up for the part, but that's a no-go. So what's really going on?

"This happens all the time," says Robbie. "People act like, 'Oh my god, the movie must be ending!' It's just the deal with movies." Not to mention "a lot of the characters haven't been portrayed before so it's a pretty big undertaking," she adds. "And it's a big undertaking for the people who are going to play the characters who have been played, like the Joker (to be played by Jared Leto). It's big shoes to fill."

But why is Flagg, a plum role, so hard to cast? There are a lot of factors at play, says Smith. Director David Ayer "turned the screenplay in before Christmas. What happens is Hollywood shuts down. But he was still working and he wanted to (start shooting) April 13th. So it takes a couple weeks to gear back up at the top of the year and people have taken (other) movies. He's moving really quickly."

Robbie nods. "It's almost impossible to get a movie all together when there are two main cast members, let alone an ensemble cast with everyone's schedules. It's crazy if it works out."

In the meantime, both have already started intense Suicide Squad workouts. "Oh god yes," says Smith. "I started before Christmas. No carbs on Christmas! It was terrible."

"Oh, I ate everything on Christmas," laughs Robbie, who is focusing on strength-training. "I'm not strong though. To do all your own stunts you have to be so strong."