The “Ayer Cut” of Suicide Squad has James Gunn’s stamp of approval.
In a surprise, the director of the upcoming The Suicide Squad indicates the possibility of David Ayer having a cut of his 2016 movie on the big screen is not only possible, but it might happen after his film premieres.
The Ayer Squad
By his own accounts, David Ayer’s take on Suicide Squad was going to be a very dark ride.
It would have had the pack of super-villains hired by the government for secret missions getting into some brutal action and pushing their dark personas.
Storylines were supposed to include Joker (Jaret Leto) teaming up with the Enchantress (Cara Delevigne); the Joker and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbi’s) relationship being more abusive; and more action for Squad members who didn’t make the final cut.
But things went awry when Warner Bros became concerned that the lukewarm reception to Batman V Superman and the sudden popularity of Marvel’s Deadpool meant moviegoers wouldn’t take to Ayer’s dark vision.
They then assigned the Trailer Park company to re-edit the movie into a lighter film more in line with an MCU release. Then, after testing both versions, Warner Bros combined them into a single film.
The result was a chaotic mess with scores of plot points (especially almost all of Leto’s Joker performance) dropped, and both critics and audiences disliked it.
An Ayer Cut
For nearly five years, Ayer has contended his version of the Squad was much better, and fans have expressed interest in seeing it on screen in some form.
It’s grown thanks to Zack Snyder’s Justice League getting a huge release on HBO Max.
Ayer has stated it would be “very easy” to release his version of Suicide Squad for barely a tenth of the cost HBO Max spent allowing Snyder to finish his Justice League vision.
When the first Suicide Squad trailer premiered, Ayer offered a rather puzzling reaction.
Now, Gunn is stepping into this. When asked by a fan on Twitter the odds of Ayer’s version of the Squad gets released, Gunn replied, “I think there’s a chance of that.”
Ayer tweeted approval for both that and Gunn’s assertion that moviegoers didn’t need to see Ayer’s movie to understand Gunn’s version.
Can Suicide Squad Ayer Cut happen?
The key question is if this can, in fact, happen.
Justice League had a huge push because it was the biggest stars in the DC Universe, united at last by a major director.
In contrast, the Squad has always been a lower-rung team of criminal misfits, and Ayer, while known for some gripping crime dramas, doesn’t have the same blockbuster clout as Snyder.
There’s also how Warner Bros may not want to keep indulging in “alternate” takes of movies but let the completed DCEU stand as it is.
However, the possibility exists with a major push by fans. It would be intriguing to see Ayer’s vision compete with Gunn’s.
The director’s cuts of films remain very popular, and for one as infamously controversial as Suicide Squad, the possibilities of it on the big screen are more attractive.
For now, it seems it may not happen but Gunn giving it his stamp of approval is one of the best signs yet that Ayer’s Squad may finally get their Suicide run in the spotlight.
The Suicide Squad premieres in theaters and HBO Max on August 6.