DC Kills Hopes For Fan-Anticipated Alternate Movie Version
If you were someone hoping that David Ayer would release a director’s cut of his 2016 DC film Suicide Squad, you’re likely going to be disappointed. Ayer himself took to the X social media platform to kill the idea, saying that he’s “done with DC” and that the “studio has no interest in releasing it.”
When fans replied to Ayer and pointed out that he’s indicated his interest in releasing a director’s cut or extended version, Ayer replied, “Naw I’m good,” adding, “Don’t need to be walking around with a begging bowl.”
David Ayer Kills Hope For The Release Of Suicide Squad The Director’s Cut
Even if David Ayer once had the desire to release a director’s cut of Suicide Squad, it seems like he’s good and ready to move on. Which means fans should probably move on, too. By Ayer’s own admission, the studio cut we saw in theaters was “not his movie,” so it seems like we’ll never find out what his original vision was for the film.
Could The Ayer’s Cut Redeem The Film?
It’s safe to say that the version of Suicide Squad we got was no good, as it was universally panned by critics and audiences alike. Apparently, Ayer’s cut of the film included quite a bit more material, including Jared Leto’s Joker getting additional screen time, a romance between Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Will Smith’s Deadshot, more on-screen deaths, and more story for several characters.
The character Diablo would have also survived the film, while the theatrical cut had the character dying after sacrificing himself.
In other words, it sounds like David Ayer’s cut of Suicide Squad would have at least been a more fleshed-out film. Whether or not it would have been much better remains to be seen, but this wouldn’t be the first time a DCEU film was sliced up to create a lesser version that was released to theaters. Fans still have the Snyder Cut of Justice League fresh on their minds, which is undoubtedly part of the reason the demand for the Ayer cut is so strong.
Another Justice League Situation
Infamously, Justice League saw a lot of content cut, leading to Zack Snyder expressing his disappointment in the theatrical version of the film and tons of fans coming forward to demand that DC release a director’s cut. Surprisingly, the fan push for the Snyder Cut was successful, and we saw Zack Snyder’s true vision for the film, which was actually better than the theatrical cut. There’s a chance that the Ayer cut could be the superior version of Suicide Squad, but we’ll never know for sure.
The Real Reason Warner Bros. Sits On The Alternate Movie
Perhaps part of the reason that the Ayer cut of Suicide Squad is getting ignored is that there was already a much better Suicide Squad film released since the 2016 film came out. James Gunn made his DC debut with his version of the government-controlled villain team and nabbed himself the position of overseeing the entire DCU going forward.
Gunn even brought back several of the popular characters from Ayer’s film, including Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flagg, and Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang.
The David Ayer Vision That Will Never Be
While it would have been interesting to see David Ayer’s version of Suicide Squad, it appears it’s just not in the cards. At least we have James Gunn’s version to make fans of Task Force X happy. We also have Peacemaker, which is pretty much the best live-action DC project to come out in a long time.
