It’s no secret that 2016’s Suicide Squad sucked. The film received a poor reception from critics and audiences alike, which eventually led to the 2019 reboot. After years since that film’s release, director David Ayer reveals why Suicide Squad became the film that was shown in theaters.
Ayer responded to a fan’s query on Twitter when they asked why Suicide Squad’s tone changed after the initial trailer that was released in 2015. To recap, the film’s first trailer used Queen’s ‘Borhamian Rhapsody’ and made it look somewhat comedic, mixed with some action-packed moments. At the same time, fans were excited about this film thanks to the trailer as seen in the comments. However, this wasn’t the vision that Ayer wanted, based on his recent responses.
Ayer revealed that there are two reasons why the Suicide Squad was re-cut, and it has nothing to do with his movie at all. According to the director, the film was altered due to Marvel’s Deadpool and the responses received for Batman vs. Superman. The aforementioned DC film was seen as “too dark,” and executives noticed the success Deadpool received that they wanted to emulate that in Suicide Squad.
It was also revealed that Ayer wasn’t aware of this and that the people involved with making the Suicide Squad trailer were told to recut the entire film. Once Ayer knew what was going on, he felt heartbroken, stating that it was “the single worst day of my career.”
Ayer revealed that his original cut somewhat exists. However, it was never tested. It’s also currently unknown if his ideal vision for the film would have been better. Fortunately, the people involved in the studio that caused these decisions to happen no longer work there, and he claims that the ones who took over respect both the artist and the fans.
Ayer has been open lately about his time directing and writing for Suicide Squad and the reception it received after it was released. He shared that he’s received death threats due to characters he’s written, and how certain plot points were “eviscerated.” Fortunately, with James Gunn now in charge of the DCU, there is some hope that the Suicide Squad — Ayer Cut would be released.
