The Ayer cut of Suicide Squad could still happen, according to director David Ayer. Despite it being years since the critically panned DC movie hit theatres, the filmmaker hasn’t given up yet.
While the DCU steams forward with upcoming DC movies like The Batman 2, Ayer, who has been vocal about his version of Suicide Squad being left on the cutting room floor, still has hope his vision could be given the Snyder cut treatment.
Ayer told Total Film, “I’m going to be hopeful. You know, there are a lot of people that are invested in certain narratives that don’t want it to see the light of day. So there’s an immense political headwind against it, because if that cut were made public, the cowardliness and the whole just general shittiness of how the film’s been treated, and how the actors have had this great work that they’d done taken away.”
He continued, “That narrative blows up once people see the movie. But it’s coming. Something’s going to happen. Something’s going to be revealed. The truth always comes out. It always comes out.”
While even those who were sympathetic to Zack Snyder’s horrible experience making Justice League have historically not been interested in another cut of Suicide Squad, public sentiment with regards to Warner. Bros is at an all-time low, which could prompt support.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was cast as a main antagonist in the real-life story of the 2023 writers strike and actors strike — he was quoted on several occasions as being unsympathetic to the strikers — and the Batgirl movie being canceled remains on the tips of fans’ tongues. The studio then tried to can the Acme vs. Coyote movie before backlash pushed it into putting the film’s rights up for sale.
Fans also got new insight into how studio interference can drown a movie’s potential when Snyder’s cut of Justice League was released to much better reviews than Joss Whedon’s.
All of this may mean the general public is more open to seeing what Ayer’s Suicide Squad might have to offer. Although, it’s fair to say there has never been a demand for it that even comes close to what existed for the Snyder cut.
Additionally, Snyder had a track record in the DC sphere and a pre-existing connection with enthusiastic fans. Ayer was one-and-done with Suicide Squad, so there is less optimism about a secretly great film hiding underneath the neon rubble of the version we’ve seen.
Going through all the DC movies in order is a disaster, with multiple creative directions, a lack of coherency, and a clear need for a new era untied to the past’s fumbles. That’s what James Gunn wants with Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters, and we don’t foresee Ayer’s cut being a part of that — even not just as a Max streaming release like Snyder’s Justice League was.
Although many people may not be interested in watching another version of Suicide Squad, it’s disheartening to see Hollywood prioritize algorithms, unfair deals, and narrative meddling over the creative vision of filmmakers. This often results in worse end-products. Even if his version of the movie is terrible, we might still argue it’s unjust nobody has the chance to verify that by seeing it.
While the circumstances are not as murky as what happened when Snyder was replaced on set due to a personal tragedy, it’s still disheartening to see an artist so unhappy with something that bears their name.
For more, see our lists of the best DC characters, upcoming DC movies, and best DC villains. Or, check out the best movies of all time.