Jake Gyllenhaal may replace Tom Hardy in 'Suicide Squad'

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Tom Hardy has dropped out of Suicide Squad.

The 37-year-old actor was slated to portray Rick Flag in the DC Comics-Warner Bros. movie, but left due to scheduling conflicts. Hardy is attached to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu revenge film The Revenant, and will also star in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Hardy is currently shooting the former with Leonardo DiCaprio, but filming is expected to to go longer than anticipated. Suicide Squad doesn't start production until April, but the actor will have press commitments ahead of the May 15 premiere of Mad Max: Fury Road.

Jake Gyllenhaal has reportedly been tapped to replace Hardy as Rick Flag. The character is the leader of the Suicide Squad, a team of antihero villains who carry out dangerous missions for the U.S. government in exchange for commuted prison sentences.

Suicide Squad is directed by David Ayer (Fury), and will feature Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney as Boomerang, Jared Leto as The Joker, Will Smith as Deadshot and Cara Delevingne as Enchantress. The movie opens in theaters August 5, 2016.

Hardy last appeared with late actor James Gandolfini in crime drama The Drop. Gyllenhaal recently starred as Louis Bloom in thriller Nightcrawler, and is scheduled for Southpaw with Rachel McAdams and Everest with Keira Knightley.