While James Gunn is on the cusp of a rebooted DC universe, David Ayer is lighting a fire on social media to release the Ayer Cut of his Suicide Squad film.
David Zaslav would famously make some unpopular and questionable decisions once he became in charge at Warner Bros. However, even before his takeover, the studio that oversaw the DCEU had already been under fire by critics and fans alike for their handling of the DC franchise. One notorious case came with David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. The theatrical release of the film would underwhelm audiences after the very warm reception of the final trailer set to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. DC’s final edit was one that felt disjointed and unfinished.
Months after he said he was done with DC, David Ayer would now take to his social media to get fans to press hard on demanding his cut of the film be released. Ayer posted a picture that stated, “Release the Ayer Cut.” The picture featured a giant art rendition of Jared Leto’s Joker mouth and a quote from Ayer on the picture reads, “This is not a directors cut, this is my edit, this is my mature cut.”
Fan demands for Ayer’s Director’s Cut of Suicide Squad began after Warner Bros. unleashed the Snyder Cut of Justice League. The final realization of the 4-hour epic’s official release lit a fire under dedicated fans, prompting Ayer to campaign for Suicide Squad to receive the same treatment. Despite waves of loyal fans tweeting support, mounting petitions, and organizing alternate ways of amplifying Ayer’s determination, the support from WB isn’t there.
According to Ayer, his Director’s Cut of Suicide Squad would have included more backstory for some characters, a romance between Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and Deadshot (Will Smith), extended scenes featuring Jared Leto’s Joker, a glimpse into Joker and Harley’s abusive relationship, Diablo surviving his on-screen demise, and more.
Ayer even wrote an open letter about the film’s unfair treatment, saying he put his life into Suicide Squad. “I made something amazing,” Ayer wrote in the letter. “My cut is intricate and emotional journey with some bad people who are shit on and discarded (a theme that resonates in my soul). The studio cut is not my movie. Read that again. And my cut is not the 10 week director’s cut – it’s a fully mature edit by Lee Smith standing on the incredible work by John Gilroy. It’s all Steven Price’s brilliant score, with not a single radio song in the whole thing. It has traditional character arcs, amazing performances, a solid third-act resolution. A handful of people have seen it.”
