Suicide Squad Director Explains Why The Ayer Cut Probably Won’t Happen

Will Smith and Margot Robbie was Deadshot and Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad
(Image credit: (Warner Bros))

DC fans are just coming off the unprecedented news that the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement will end with a director’s cut of Justice League for HBO Max. But as one campaign gets some closure, another DCEU movie has been thrown into the spotlight again. What about David Ayer’s Suicide Squad? Here’s what the filmmaker has to say:

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Following the harsh reviews the 2016 film received, Ayer has revealed that his true vision for the film was compromised by studio meddling. Not unlike Zack Snyder, the filmmaker has posted various tidbits from his intended version of the movie on social media throughout the years. David Ayer has made various claims about his original film, such as their being sequences with Jared Leto’s Joker that have not been seen and that Harley Quinn’s story arc was “eviscerated” from the film, among other things.

Fans are already using the hashtag #ReleaseTheAyerCut now that the Snyder Cut is getting a happy ending. Quickly following the news, Ayer took the the platform to post a series of cryptic posts to seemingly turn attention over to Suicide Squad. His recent comments on Twitter shows his support for Warner Bros as the studio gears up for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad in 2021.

Ayer explained that it would be “just fine” with him if the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad remains a rumor. But on the other hand, he doesn’t outright say he wouldn’t like it to exist. In fact, one fan reached out to the AT&T Twitter account (the company owns Warner Bros) to ask for the Ayer Cut. Here’s what happened:

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The filmmaker also took to Twitter to respond to a fan asking for a re-release of Suicide Squad with this statement:

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So is David Ayer A-ok with his Suicide Squad never seeing the light of day or not? Suicide Squad is a bit of a different story than Justice League was. David Ayer was the director from start to finish on the comic book film, and it made a good margin of profit for itself ($746 million against a budget of $175 million), despite its bummer reviews.

Justice League, on the other hand, was a significant loss for Warner Bros., making $657 million worldwide on a reported production budget of $300 million. Snyder hurriedly left his vision behind when he suffered the sudden loss of his teen daughter, leaving Joss Whedon in charge and some serious last-minute changes to the superhero, team-up film. Overall, there’s a bit more to gain from the Snyder Cut, since its plans have clearly been abandoned since.

When it comes to Suicide Squad, the studio already has its own game plan to rewrite the wrongs of the franchise with James Gunn’s version. But if the fan following grows, could history repeat itself? What do you think? Do you want to see Warner Bros pursue the Ayer Cut? Vote in our poll below.

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Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.