The DC Extended Universe has had a wild tenure in theaters, including a share of missteps. One of the movies that failed to resonate with audiences and critics alike was David Ayer's Suicide Squad, with the director citing studio interference that ultimately changed his vision (and timeline) for the movie. Plenty of footage also ended up on the cutting room floor, especially sequences with Jared Leto's Joker. Ayer previously revealed a cut scene for Karen Fukuhara's Katana, and now he's released our first glimpse of the character in action.
Katana played mostly a tertiary presence in Suicide Squad. She added plenty of badass action, but failed to really develop as a character or have any significant screen time. But David Ayer had other plans for Katana, specifically during the final conflict with Enchantress. The villain was going to possess the sword wielding member of Task Force X, turning on her teammates in the process. Ayer shared a glimpse of this sequence over on his Instagram Story. Check it out below.
FOMO alert. This is just a brief glimpse into what David Ayer originally had in mind for Suicide Squad, before his vision was eventually tampered with. Katana's deleted scene would have added a new layer to the movie's final action sequence, as the team is forced to fight one of their own. But in the end this was left on the cutting room floor, at least until the mythical #AyerCut is released.
This shot of Katana in action comes to us from the personal Instagram of director David Ayer. He shared this image on his story, allowing only 24 hours for fans to check out the filmmaker's glimpse into Suicide Squad's deleted scenes. Luckily screenshots will allow it to live forever. Could he end up showing us actual footage sometime in the future?
Suicide Squad had a ton going for it ahead of the movie's 2016 release. David Ayer assembled a strong cast of actors to make the movie into a reality, and the first trailer really helped get audiences excited. Set to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", the marketing teased an over the top adventure filled with DC villains who could end up dying at any point.
But despite Suicide Squad's title, there weren't a ton of fatalities throughout the movie's runtime. Additionally, Warner Bros. reportedly pushed for more comedy, which took out the grit that David Ayer was so excited to share with DC audiences. Jared Leto's Joker was barely in the movie, while Ayer admitted that Harley's story was "eviscerated."
New interest in David Ayer's original vision for Suicide Squad had happened recently, after HBO Max revealed its plans to complete and release the Justice League's Snyder Cut. Since Ayer has claimed similar studio interference to his ill-fated DC blockbuster, some DC fans are hoping that Suicide Squad gets a director's cut of its own.
The next installment in the DCEU is Wonder Woman 1984 on August 14th. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
