Suicide Squad Director David Ayer Gets Blunt About How DC Changed His Film

Suicide Squad director David Ayer gets blunt about the changes DC made to his original vision for the film. Before James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad debuted to great reviews in 2021, there was Ayer’s movie, 2016’s Suicide Squad, which marked the debut of the team in the DCEU. Despite the film’s successful box office run, Suicide Squad failed to be as beloved as fans expected, and Ayer has claimed for years that is due to changes DC made to his film.

During an appearance on Jon Bernthal’s Real Ones podcast, Ayer got blunt about what happened with Suicide Squad.

Asked about his biggest Hollywood heartbreak, Ayer confirmed it was Suicide Squad, saying, “That shit broke me.” The director then went on to detail the situation, remembering that he was coming off the celebrated war movie Fury at the time he signed on for Suicide Squad. According to Ayer, DC had never tested Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice before release, and the negative reaction to the movie led to the studio making major changes to Suicide Squad, turning it “into a f—ing comedy.” Check out the full exchange below:

Bernthal: What is your biggest heartbreak in the film industry?

Ayer: Hollywood — I tell people — is like watching someone you love get f—ed by someone you hate. The big one is Suicide Squad. That shit broke me. That handed me my ass.

Bernthal: How so?

Ayer: Come right off Fury, right? I had the town in my hand — could’ve done anything, and I did do anything. And, you know, go on this journey with it. And the same thing — authentic, truthful, let’s do all the rehearsal, let’s really get in each other’s souls. Let’s create this amazing, collaborative thing, right? And then… Deadpool opened, right? And they never tested Batman v. Superman, so they put the movie out there, and they never did a test, and they were expecting a different result, and then they got hammered by all the critics. Then it’s like, ‘Okay, we’re going to turn David Ayer’s dark, soulful movie into a f—ing comedy now.’

What We Know About The Ayer Cut Of Suicide Squad

Over the years, Ayer has revealed multiple details of what fans can expect to see if the Ayer cut of Suicide Squad ever becomes available, with some leaks about the director’s cut also emerging. One of the most criticized aspects of Suicide Squad might see some form of redemption in the future, as Jared Leto’s Joker suffered greatly from having his arc mangled by most of his scenes in the movie getting cut.

Many Suicide Squad Ayer cut scenes have been revealed. In one of them, Leto’s Joker would have interacted with Enchantress, making a deal with her to get Harley Quinn back and become the “King of Gotham.” Another scene would have provided some interesting connective tissue between Suicide Squad and 2017’s Justice League, with Enchantress using a Mother Box in Ayer’s cut of the film, with the artifact being what Steppenwolf was after in Justice League.

Ayer’s cut of Suicide Squad apparently features a nice balance between dark and light moments. One of the scenes that were revealed includes Ben Affleck’s Batman saying to Deadshot that his daughter will have gray hair when he sees her again, while another scene depicts Rick Flag and June Moon getting caught kissing by Amanda Waller, who tells them to use “protection” to prevent the birth of the antichrist. Recently, Ayer revealed Gunn’s promise to release Suicide Squad‘s Ayer cut, so there is a real chance that audiences will get to see Ayer’s original vision for Suicide Squad realized in the future.

Source: Real Ones