Several producers involved in James Gunn’s hybrid of sequel and reboot have sought to distance the project as far away from David Ayer’s Suicide Squad as possible, confirming that the events of the maligned 2016 blockbuster aren’t referenced or acknowledged at all despite the presence of returning cast members Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman and Jai Courtney.
Warner Bros. and DC Films have gained an unwanted reputation for interfering a little too heavily on their big budget comic book adaptations, and they’ll never learn from their mistakes if history is to be believed. It’s not a coincidence that Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition and Justice League were vastly superior to their respective theatrical releases, and the studio-mandated CGI-driven showdown at the climax of Wonder Woman is arguably the weakest scene in the entire movie.
Ayer got it worse, though, after being given just six weeks to write the script, and having completed his task he was then forced to watch creative control wrestled from his hands as WB decided to drastically lighten the tone of the film due to a combination of Batman v Superman‘s under-performance and Deadpool‘s success, even pitting two competing edits against each other with test audiences deciding on a winner.
Any hopes for the Ayer Cut might be dead in the water after the filmmaker confirmed he would no longer be speaking about it publicly, but fans are either supporting the filmmaker through other means or opting for a Suicide Squad double bill this weekend, after the misguided antihero adventure rocketed up the HBO Max most-watched list to secure first place as Gunn’s second installment arrives on streaming and in theaters.
Published: Aug 7, 2021 10:40 am