Almost a decade ago, Suicide Squad, the third of the DC movies in order from the DC Extended Universe era, was released, though as we’ve learned in the years since, the final product differed heavily from director David Ayer’s original vision. Nevertheless, in the midst of having campaigned for the “Ayer Cut” to be released (though he’s no longer fighting for this to happen), the filmmaker has also been supportive of other DC media endeavors, like James Gunn’s Superman reboot, which is one of the biggest summer tentpole releases on the 2025 movies schedule. Unfortunately for Ayer, he was hit with backlash for supporting that upcoming DC movie, and it was bad enough that he responded online.
Apparently this stemmed from a case of unfortunate timing when David Ayer booster another “Release the Ayer Cut” campaign that happened to coincide with the release of Creature Commandos, the first DC Universe project, on the 2024 TV schedule. With the first Superman trailer about to arrive, Ayer went on X (formerly known as Twitter) to share his wish that there be no campaigning when the highly-anticipated preview premieres, saying:
I didn’t realize James was dropping Creature Commandos when the last Ayer cut campaign hit. The new Superman trailer is dropping soon and I know there’s intentions of another campaign for my version of Skwad. As a film makers I want to support other film makers. I’m excited to see the trailer and have heard through the rumor mill it’s pretty incredible. I just want to publicly say it would be nice to stay far clear of Thursday for any campaigning. I appreciate everyone hearing me out. At the end of the day I’m riding a tiger here. Just going in heard on this. 🙏🏻
Now you’d think that’d be a reasonable enough request, right? As much as David Ayer appreciates people still championing for his version of Suicide Squad to be released, just like what was done with Zack Snyder’s Justice League, he also wants to help give the Superman trailer a platform to shine and be the main DC talking point for Thursday. Well, evidently enough people took issue with him expressing this desire, which resulted in him saying the following in another X post:
My Lord. If supporting another film maker is so contentious, I’m just lost at this point. When I was a kid I had a nightmare childhood. My best friends were comic books. They held me and gave me company when no one else did. Batman spoke to my injured soul. Superman’s optimism was an example how to see the world without darkness. I cannot fucking wait to see Jame’s trailer. Real talk. And I cannot wait to see his film. And absolutely am sure he crushed it. Because that simple optimism of Superman is all over it. And the little kid in me needs that right now. I’m a bad guy for that? So be it. I do troll what I can control. And can’t what I can’t. Gonna step back from all this for a moment.
While there are plenty of fans who would like for the DCEU to be revived, the fact of the matter is that’s no longer in the cards. It’s certainly a shame for Henry Cavill’s Superman, who was going to make more appearances following his Black Adam cameo, but now we’re in the DC Universe era, with David Corenswet playing the Man of Steel in this continuity. David Ayer is looking forward to seeing the Superman trailer like many others are, as the title Kryptonian meant a lot to him growing up. There shouldn’t be an issue with him sharing such enthusiasm even if Superman is part of a different DC franchise. Let Ayer support James Gunn’s next DC movie and the fans who would like to see his cut of Suicide Squad to come out.
Superman flies into theaters on July 11, 2025, and while Creature Commandos technically kicked off the DCU, Gunn and fellow DC Studios head Peter Safran have said they consider the movie to be the “true beginning” of this universe. David Ayer’s latest movie, The Beekeeper, can be streamed with an Amazon Prime Video subscription.
