With production set to get underway very soon, it appears that Warner Bros. and director David Ayer (Fury) have zeroed in on their replacement for Tom Hardy in the DC Comics adaptation Suicide Squad. THR reports that Joel Kinnaman is in early talks to step into the role of Rick Flagg in the villain-centric pic, which revolves around a group of comic book antagonists who carry out deadly missions for the government in exchange for commuted sentences. Hardy was set to play the leader of the group, but dropped out due to scheduling reasons—he’s currently shooting Alejandro G. Inarritu’s The Revenant, which is going over-schedule due to some unique filming techniques and won’t be finished until April. But script issues were apparently also a factor in Hardy’s decision, as Ayer was still working on the screenplay when all the actors signed on.

If his deal closes, Kinnaman would join Will Smith (Deadshot), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Jared Leto (Joker), Jai Courtney (Boomerang), and Cara Delevigne (Enchantress) in the pic. The actor came to prominence for his standout work on the AMC series The Killing before getting his first feature film starring role in the RoboCop reboot.

I’d be lying if I said Kinnaman’s hiring was exciting in the wake of Hardy’s exit, but really who could possibly replace an actor as interesting and unpredictable as Hardy? I don’t know much about the comics (and, obviously, haven't read the screenplay) so it’s possible Kinnaman is a swell fit for the role, but since he’s in “early talks” there’s no guarantee he will actually sign on. What do you think, folks? Would Kinnaman make a solid addition to the Suicide Squad ensemble? Sound off in the comments below.

Suicide Squad is scheduled to follow Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as the second DC Comics movie of 2016, opening in theaters on August 5th.