The Most Hated DC Movie Is Getting A New Cut
As soon as fans got what they wanted with HBO Max's blockbuster release last year, a new hashtag was born that DC couldn't ignore
It’s fair to say that the DC Extended Universe hasn’t been as wildly successful as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, judging by either critics’ reviews or box office numbers, fortune favours Disney’s superhero juggernaut as opposed to Warner Bros effort of constant false starts. Arguably the low point for DC was the theatrical release of Justice League (2017). That film earned a resurrection courtesy of Zack Snyder and HBO Max last year, and now Geekosity reports that another of the most hated DC movies is getting a new cut: 2016’s Suicide Squad.
In Geekosity’s report, they state that according to industry insiders, HBO Max could announce an ‘Ayer Cut’ of Suicide Squad as early as May 18. Failing that, the rejig of the ill-fated superhero movie will definitely hit Warner Bros emerging streaming service this year. They also cite that prior predictions regarding Warner Bros and DC have indeed come to light, notably the termination of WarnerMedia chairman Ann Sarnoff by David Zaslav following the Warner Bros Discovery merger. Sarnoff was disapproving of a potential ‘Ayer Cut’ of Suicide Squad, following the very successful Zack Snyder’s Justice League release on HBO Max last year. Now with Sarnoff in the Warner Bros rear-view mirror, the door is open for the ‘Ayer Cut’ to follow in the ‘Snyder Cut’s’ wake.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League came about in part due to sustained fan pressure on social media. Zack Snyder left the original theatrical production due to personal tragedy and Joss Whedon stepped in to bring the 2017 theatrical version of Justice League to life. After a whole raft of changes to Snyder’s vision, the film was critically panned and fans immediately started plastering the hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut across the internet in earnest. As soon as fans got what they wanted with HBO Max’s blockbuster release last year, a new hashtag was born #ReleaseTheAyerCut. It is no secret that David Ayer isn’t a fan of the theatrical release of Suicide Squad. Essentially, the director claimed that what fans saw in the cinema wasn’t his movie, an opinion he described passionately in an open letter, following the release of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.
Given the success of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, giving Suicide Squad the same treatment would make business sense for Warner Bros. Given the medium that is being touted for such a release is the streamer HBO Max, an ‘Ayer Cut’ of the 2016 movie would allow the new version of the film to exist in its own microcosm, unable to affect the ever-changing narrative landscape that is the cinema bound DCEU. As well as this, it will help pull in viewers and subscribers to HBO Max, in the ever-increasing hotbed that is the world of television streaming, intellectual property and original content are the most potent weapons of choice, as Warner Bros nemesis Disney has found with its revolving door policy of streamed Marvel series. As a result, DC fans and in particular fans of David Ayer’s lost vision will be keeping an eye out for forthcoming ‘Ayer Cut’ news on May 18.
