It's an interesting time in DC's live-action universe. There are some very exciting projects coming to theaters over the next few years, and it was recently announced that the Snyder Cut of Justice League will be completed and released on HBO Max next year. The Snyder Cut has been a long time coming, as fans began campaigning for the director's original vision of Justice League shortly after its theatrical release. Now that it's becoming a reality, some fans have already pivoted their attention on David Ayer's Suicide Squad, hoping that the filmmaker's original vision would be revealed. And now Ayer has addressed this possibility, and explains why it would be so "cathartic" for him.
Suicide Squad had a ton going for its ahead of the movie's 2016 release. The first trailer was a thrilling ride backed by Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", and teased what the DCEU was capable of. But plenty of Ayer's original vision (including most of Jared Leto's Joker) ended up on the cutting room floor, with the filmmaker citing studio interference. The Snyder Cut movement's success has people hoping that Suicide Squad would get the same treatment, with David Ayer responding on social media with,
Well, that was honest. It looks like David Ayer would love for a director's cut of Suicide Squad to become a reality, similar to the groundbreaking news regarding Justice League' Snyder Cut. What's more, the filmmaker believes it would be relatively easy to release his version of the movie, likely because it was far less complex and CGI fueled than Zack Snyder's massive blockbuster.
David Ayer's thoughts about the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad come from his personal Twitter page, which the the director regularly uses to directly communicate with fans. The conversation is largely about his work in the DCEU, including the original plans he had for his villain-centric adventure. Ayer has revealed small tidbits of information or stills from his version of the movie, and he seems to think that re-releasing the alternate version would be easy. Of course, that's not necessarily his call to make, as Warner Bros. is in charge of the shared universe and its properties.
As the director claims, the version of Suicide Squad that arrived in theaters back in 2016 wasn't actually his vision for the movie. David Ayer references the "Edward Scissorhands" treatment, relating to how the movie was cut together and edited down from what he'd intended. This was seemingly discouraging for the filmmaker, which is why a re-release would be so cathartic for him.
Of course, there's no indication that the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad will ever become a reality. While moviegoers campaigned for Justice League's Snyder Cut for years, the villain movie hasn't had the same fan response. Eventually crowdfunding and continually calling for the Snyder Cut got the attention of the movie's cast and crew, who helped to make it a reality. But folks only just started asking for Ayer's version of Suicide Squad.
Still, HBO Max and Warner Bros. giving Zack Snyder a budget to complete his vision for Justice League is an unprecedented turn of events in the film world. And it's likely going to serve as inspiration for more fan campaigns of this nature in the future, especially where genre projects like comic book movies are concerned.
The next installment in the DCEU is Wonder Woman 1984 on August 14th, while the Snyder Cut of Justice League is expected to arrive on HBO Max sometime in 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
