Warning: spoilers for Suicide Squad are in play. If you haven't seen the film yet, bookmark this story and come back after you've seen the film.
If the fact that Suicide Squad was re-cut and re-shot to become a different product than originally promised is supposed to be a secret, then it's the worst kept secret since Kylo Ren was Han Solo's son. With all of the stories of dropped footage, and the ensuing claims of false advertising that followed, we decided it was a good idea to go hunting. Our prize: all of the deleted moments we could find from the Suicide Squad trailers.
After an extensive hunt, we're proud to say that we've bagged 20 choice moments that the editing process of this movie decided to nix. Here now is the list of scenes that made the cut for Suicide Squad's trailers, but didn't make it to the final round.
Waller Talks Superman
Starting with the Comic Con presentation trailer from 2015, we noticed two big factors from the beginning. The first being that Amanda Waller had a really good line about Superman acting as "a beacon" for all metahumans to come out of the shadows. The line, and the delivery of the line, make Viola Davis' Waller out to be a badass that has moments of uncertainty involving the ever changing world herself. But perhaps the bigger note from the trailer's beginning is the fact that this trailer is, in visual presentation and tone, the darkest portrayal of Suicide Squad yet. Looking at what the original logo for the film looked like, compared to the brighter colored substitute in the next trailer, is probably the biggest sign of where Warner Bros and DC Comics decided to take things in the end.
El Diablo's Lament
An interesting moment that was intended for Jay Hernandez's El Diablo is when he lights a match in his cell, and admires the flame. After a couple of moments, El Diablo puts out the flame and laments what we can assume is the incident involving his accidental murder of his family. This is one of those moments that, while it may not advance the story at large, would have built the backstory for El Diablo a little more.
The Mystery Patient
Our first whopper of a deleted scene comes from the flashback from early in Suicide Squad where Harley reflects on her "creation" through The Joker's electroshock therapy. During the chaotic scene in Arkham Asylum, it looks like this patient is hiding somewhere in the background, which has us wondering why he's even featured in the first place. Is this a one off background character, or is this man a future character we should be watching out for? Apparently, even Warner Bros couldn't figure it out either, and so he was 86'd.
Rick And June Get Close
One of the two big love story arcs in Suicide Squad is the one between Col. Rick Flag and Dr. June Moon / The Enchantress. However, much like the arc between The Joker and Harley Quinn, that arc looks to have been trimmed down to its bare essentials. What we're missing out on, at least from what we've seen in the trailers, is some close and personal time between Rick and June in their professional lives. Another scene further on in our list seems to confirm this, so we'll touch on more about that later.
Harley's Boomstick
A simple, but memorable moment that was cut from the final product we know as Suicide Squad is Harley Quinn miming her baseball bat becoming a shotgun. During the group's stroll through an open square in Midway City, we see Harley take aim, cock her "gun," and blast her target - whatever it may be. For a moment that stuck with everyone, and found itself becoming a still used in a lot of stories covering the film, it's kind of weird that this wasn't part of the film's endgame.
"I Hope You've Got Insurance."
In another flashback, we learn that Harley Quinn was captured by Batman during a "date night" between herself and The Joker. That date consisted of racing a high power sportscar against the flow of traffic in Gotham City. While that's a perfect date for the pair of raving psychopaths, Harley's perfect quip didn't make it into the film. At least, we assume she would say, "I hope you've got insurance," during said moment.
Flag's Rundown Of The Suicide Squad
Moving on to the first theatrical trailer, we see that someone turned on the bright lights hiding in the film's logos, turning the previously black and red Suicide Squad logo into a neon washed thrill ride. A moment added to this first trailer, but ultimately cut from the film, is Col. Flag's simplified rundown of every member's powers and abilities. Also, we see Dr. Moon in the background of the shot, feeling Rick up for some reason, which more than likely leads to the intimate moment from the previous Comic Con trailer.
"I Can't Wait To Show You My Toys."
If we were to single out one moment that was the biggest omission from Suicide Squad's final form, it'd have to be this scene between Jared Leto's Joker and Ike Barenholtz's Griggs. Infamously, Griggs finds himself in a gambling bind, which is then paid off by The Joker, but at a cost. That cost is, obviously, becoming his inside man at Belle Reve, and to help seal the deal The Joker threatens to show Griggs some sort of toys he's got stashed away. We could only imagine what those toys could be, as Griggs obviously said yes.
The Joker's Shootout
Another interesting omission is from the scene where The Joker and his crew hijack an armored helicopter, all in the name of extracting his dear Harley. It looks like we were originally supposed to have a better look at Mr. J and his stooges providing covering fire against the Suicide Squad's other members, providing Harley Quinn's path to getting away.
"Let's Have Some Fun."
Presumably cut from the briefing in the beginning, an extra scene with The Enchantress in the White House briefing conducted by Amanda Waller was included in this trailer. While we'd think that Waller would have stabbed the heart of the Enchantress the moment some sort of trouble looked to be breaking out, this clip shows the villainous character trying to "have some fun" with those in the room.
Katana's Blade Of Souls
The next three scenes have one thing in common: each of them involves Katana, and the character development that would have accompanied her throughout the film. The first segment involves Katana showing off her sword and the souls that it's collected. While we were told about this sword, and saw it for a little bit in the film, we didn't get to see it unsheathed and on display to the rest of the team.
Katana's Transformation
Now this is something we're scratching our heads over. It look like Katana is being taken over by something in this moment, as her eyes go from their normal color to a full pool of darkness. We're not sure if this is triggered by her communing with the souls from her blade, or even possibly because of the hold that The Enchantress has on the entire Suicide Squad lineup towards the end of the film. Either way, this scene could possibly lead to our next discovery.
Killer Croc vs. Katana
For some reason, Killer Croc and Katana go at it for a brief second in the trailer, which is odd because neither of them really gets a lot to do, except for their own slight moments of characterization in the third act. Looking at the frame above, we noticed two things: Killer Croc's eyes are black like Katana's were in the frame above, and the setting looks like the ruins that Enchantress has made her home in at the heart of Midway City. So there's a chance that Killer Croc is trying to snap the both of them out of this daydream, or that Enchantress is trying to make them fight.
Harleen Slams The Joker's Ride
With all of the specific talk surrounding Harley Quinn and The Joker's relationship being removed from large pieces of the film, we were obviously ready to find any and every piece that we could scattered throughout the trailers to Suicide Squad. We sought, and we have found, as there was a particularly interesting moment of Dr. Harleen Quinzel slamming her hands on the hood of The Joker's tricked out sports car, which we assume was only included to help with the rhythmic needs of the trailer.
"I Love This Guy."
When the trailer unveiled during MTV's VMAs dropped, out went Queen's "Bohemian Rhaphsody," and in came The Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz." With even more frantic energy injected into David Ayer's even brighter looking anti-hero film, there was sure to be moments that slipped by in our fan frenzy. Looking back, that was exactly the case, as Harley's declaration that she was really digging what El Diablo was putting down, at least on a philosophical level, was removed from the final film.
Dr. Quinzel Pursues The Joker
Yet another piece of footage that backs the missing footage between Dr. Quinzel and The Joker's pre-Ace Chemicals rendezvous was found in this trailer. This time, you can see Harleen pursuing The Jokermobile through the streets of Gotham on a motorcycle. If you remember some of the pre-release buzz around these two on set, there were photos of The Joker in front of a gun held by Dr. Quinzel, so we're to assume that this scene is before or after that armed encounter.
Harley's Wink At Deadshot
While Margot Robbie and Will Smith were supposed to be a couple to root for in Focus, some of us found ourselves wanting Harley Quinn and Deadshot to end up together at the end of Suicide Squad. Blame the heaps of charisma and chemistry between the two, which is still evident in the final film, but was practically undeniable in this small moment that was meant to happen when Deadshot realizes Harley is communicating with The Joker, via text message.
"Buh Bye!"
And the hits just keep on coming, as The Joker reared his head in another piece of deleted footage that saw in in a very strange place indeed. Not only did he use a grenade against the men and women at the heart of Suicide Squad, he also seemed to be doing so in an interesting location. If you look at the background of this shot, you can make out the ruins of Midway City that were home to the film's final battle, confirming reports from Redditors who stated that The Joker was supposed to be present for the film's finale.
Harley Takes Drink Orders
After the Suicide Squad bows out of assisting Rick Flag in his quest to save June from The Enchantress' evil plans, they take up in a Midway City bar and toast to the supposed end. Though what we didn't get to see was Harley Quinn stepping behind the bar and taking the entire crew's drink orders. Not so in the trailers, as we find out that Killer Croc wants a beer, Katana seconds Deadshot's order of a whiskey, and El Diablo settles for a well advised water. It may not be an important story beat, but it was a pretty fun moment, and it could have stayed.
"Ours or Theirs?"
Finally, we took a look at this past summer's Comic Con trailer, and despite Suicide Squad being in such a late state of production, there was still a moment they felt needed to be dropped from the film. During her briefing at the White House, Amanda Waller compares the rise of metahumans to biblical events such as the story of Samson's mighty strength, as well as the existence of Goliath counting as a "weapon of mass destruction." Ultimately, her case for forming Task Force X comes down to one argument: if we're going to war with the metahumans, we're going to need our own group of insurgents to fight back.
