Though Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was probably the most divisive film of 2016, Suicide Squad was an extremely close second. While some will defend David Ayer’s take on Task Force X to the grave, many others will call it one of the biggest disappointments of all-time as far as comic book movies go, citing a disjointed story, under-written characters and a ridiculous villain as its main problems.
That last point is especially true, as the studio’s decision to go with Enchantress and Incubus really didn’t sit well with fans. Many feel that the Joker should have been the true big bad of the story, or at least played a far bigger role in it, and that’s something which isn’t lost on Ayer. Though he did show up for a few scenes, the Clown Prince of Crime was mostly unnecessary to the main plot and left very little impact once all was said and done. This was particularly frustrating given how heavily he featured in the marketing for Suicide Squad.
Taking a moment to reflect on what exactly went wrong, Ayer recently hopped on to Twitter to post the following statement, saying that if he could go back in time, Mr. J would have been the main villain.
“I took inspiration from the insanity of the original comics. Making a movie is a journey, not a straight line. I learned so much. People want what they want, and everyone has a personal vision of how each character should look and walk and talk. If you set out to make a mass appeal movie, it’s easy to end up with vanilla. But I went for it. And I know Squad has its flaws, Hell, the World knows it. Nothing hurts more than to pick up a newspaper and see a couple years of your blood, sweat and tears ripped to shreds. The hate game is strong out there. Wish I had a time machine. I’d make the Joker the main villain and engineer a more grounded story.”
While Suicide Squad wasn’t a complete failure – it did make close to $750 million, after all – it’s still easy to see where the director’s coming from. The vast majority of critics and fans tore it to pieces, and that’s gotta hurt. Ayer’s comments are heartfelt and insightful though, and it’s nice to see him acknowledging the film’s flaws, including how he wishes the story was more grounded, with the Joker as its villain.
While it’s obviously too late now to change things, we’re all but guaranteed to get a sequel at some point, and though it’s uncertain if Ayer will return to direct (he may want to move on from the DCEU after Gotham City Sirens), if he does, hopefully he’ll get a chance to right some of the wrongs he made the first time around.
Tell us, do you agree with David Ayer’s comments here? Should the Joker have been the main villain of the story, or do you think Enchantress was an effective antagonist in Suicide Squad? Sound off in the usual place and let us know!