Advertisement

'Suicide Squad' star Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje dashes hopes of Killer Croc return (exclusive)

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje portrayed Killer Croc in the 2016 superhero film 'Suicide Squad'.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje portrayed Killer Croc in the 2016 superhero film 'Suicide Squad'.

British actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje doesn’t think he’ll be returning to the role of Killer Croc any time soon, though he is thankful for his Suicide Squad job.

The 51-year-old spent five hours every day in the make-up chair to embody the reptilian Batman foe and is in no rush to reprise the role in James Gunn’s upcoming reinvention of the story.

“I don’t think I need to [do it again], to be honest,” he tells Yahoo Movies UK. “I did it, I enjoyed it, it bought me a Bentley and I will keep moving on.”

Read more: Lessons that Suicide Squad can learn from Guardians of the Galaxy

Akinnuoye-Agbaje is promoting his raw, fearsome directorial debut Farming, which takes its title from the trend of Nigerian parents handing their kids to white foster families, which was popular in the UK between the 1960s and 1980s.

But he also reflects on his work in the world of comic book movies, which has included roles as Kurse in Thor: The Dark World as well as Killer Croc.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje attends a photocall for the UK Premiere of 'Farming' during the 73rd Edinburgh International Film Festival. (Photo by Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images)
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje attends a photocall for the UK Premiere of 'Farming' during the 73rd Edinburgh International Film Festival. (Photo by Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images)

The actor says he didn’t worry too much about the backlash to Suicide Squad, which was negatively reviewed by critics despite its mammoth $747m (£610m) haul at the global box office.

He says: “To be quite honest with you, I think I went on to something quite quickly afterwards.

“Particularly with that kind of genre movie, I don’t take the criticism or reactions too seriously. It’s supposed to be just fun.”

Read more: New Suicide Squad will be tonally different, says Jai Courtney

Akinnuoye-Agbaje also came close to playing another superhero role, having met with Marvel about potentially playing Black Panther, before Chadwick Boseman was cast as the King of Wakanda.

“I think we were at a point where we had discussions [with Marvel] about other things I would like to pursue and I took a meeting [about Black Panther],” he reveals.

Chadwick Boseman has portrayed Black Panther in the MCU since 2016's 'Captain America: Civil War'.
Chadwick Boseman has portrayed Black Panther in the MCU since 2016's 'Captain America: Civil War'.

“As an actor, you do these meetings and some of them go somewhere, but some of them don’t.

“What I can say is that, having seen the latest rendition, I’m just happy that it came out.”

In the wake of Black Panther’s success, Marvel is moving towards a more diverse slate of superheroes for its announced phase four, including a film for Asian hero Shang-Chi and a Disney+ TV show for Ms. Marvel — the company’s first Muslim hero.

Read more: Behind Black Panther’s return in Endgame

According to Akinnuoye-Agbaje, the film has paved the way for non-white creatives to tell their stories on the big screen.

He says: “The impact it has had in the industry in convincing them that there is a palatable black audience for black films has only strengthened the audience for a film like Farming.”

Farming is released in UK cinemas on 11 October. Watch a trailer below.