‘Suicide Squad’ Director David Ayer Teases His Director’s Cut

DC Extended Universe had its ups and downs during the ten years of its existence, and some of the biggest downs were 2016’s ‘Suicide Squad’ and 2017’s ‘Justice League.’ Both of these movies had troublesome productions, and ultimately, they were released with many changes and cuts that were orchestrated by the studio. Even though ‘Suicide Squad’ was undoubtedly a commercial success, the critical response from both critics and audiences was largely negative, even though Margot Robbie’s performance as Harley Quinn was praised, and the movie won the Academy Award for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling.

Following the theatrical release of 2017’s ‘Justice League,’ many fans started an online campaign, #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, calling the studio to release Zack Snyder’s Director’s Cut, and that gigantic four-hour movie was ultimately released on HBOMax in 2021. The fans and critics agreed that the Director’s Cut is much better than the theatrical movie, and since it was known that the studio orchestrated many changes on Ayer’s ‘Suicide Squad’ as well, the fans started a new campaign called #ReleaseTheAyerCut, which has not received any results so far.

David Ayer opens up about his Director’s Cut of 2016’s ‘Suicide Squad’

Since 2016’s ‘Suicide Squad’ was a commercial success, the studio was ready to announce a sequel, but with a different approach. So they hired James Gunn to develop a standalone sequel, and Gunn took it to a whole new level. Unlike the original ‘Suicide Squad,’ Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ was rated R, and although it was a commercial disappointment due to the simultaneous release in theaters and on HBOMax due to the pandemic, the movie received a better critical response compared to Ayer’s predecessor.

Today, two years after the release of ‘The Suicide Squad,’ James Gunn is the co-CEO of DC Studios, and he’s currently working on his next movie, ‘Superman: Legacy’ which will kick off DCU in July 2025. Recently, David Ayer shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) a new image featuring Jared Leto’s Joker from his ‘Suicide Squad,’ and when some fans wondered why he would do that seven years after the movie’s release, here’s his explanation.

“All I know is my unseen film plays much better than the studio release. The interest in my cut being show seems real and organic. And Gunn told me it would have it’s time to be shared. He absolutely deserves to launch to launch his DC universe without more drama about old projects. In a way I’m chained to this thing. I’m riding a tiger here and navigating this situation the best I can. Life is a very strange journey.”

David Ayer

Although some fans considered Gunn to be Ayer’s competition when he was hired to develop ‘The Suicide Squad,’ Ayer shared his support for Gunn. The same thing is pretty much happening on social media now since many fans who are calling for restoring the so-called Snyderverse spend their time on social time trashing Gunn even before his DCU kicked off.

Also, Zack Snyder expressed his support for the upcoming movie ‘Blue Beetle,’ and Gunn confirmed that Xolo Maridueña’s character is the first superhero in his DCU, even though the movie itself is officially the second-to-last DCEU movie. The whole thing with a transition between DCEU to DCU is a bit confusing, to say the least, but DC fans still have a lot of content to look forward to in the future.

There are no official plans to release the Ayer cut for now yet, but that could change in theory. We still remember when ‘Superman II’ was first released in 1980, with Richard Lester credited as the sole director after the original director Richard Donner was fired when 3/4 of the movie was already completed. ‘Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut’ was officially released in 2006, 26 years after the release of the original cut.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Would you like to see the Ayer Cut of ‘Suicide Squad’? Let us know in the comments.