Zack Snyder’s Justice League was not the only DCEU film to be heavily altered before its theatrical release. After the successful release of the Snyder Cut, fans are petitioning Warner Bros. to release the director's cut of another DC film, David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad. In the wake of the upcoming release of James Gunn’s sequel The Suicide Squad, fans want Warner Bros. to release the director-approved version of the much-maligned original film, something Ayer seems to support.
When Ayer’s Suicide Squad was released in 2016, it was met with a less than enthusiastic reception. The film was the third in the newly anointed DCEU and was released not long after another poorly received film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which was criticized for its “cynical” and “dark” tone. Based on the marketing campaign alone, it seems like Warner Bros. got cold feet and desperately tried to "course correct," hoping to avoid another big-budget flop. When the first trailers for Suicide Squad were released, they showed off a much darker and grittier tone, but as the trailers progressed they became more reliant on pop music, fast cutting, and were accompanied by bizarre, brightly colored posters. It was clear that the end result was not the original intent.
Ayer himself has claimed in the past that his “soulful drama was beaten into a comedy,” with the studio trying to turn Suicide Squad into something akin to an R-rated Guardians of the Galaxy. Ayer is, after all, known for his darker and more grounded approach, which can be seen in his previous films Training Day and the WWII epic Fury. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ayer said of the matter, "It's frustrating because I made a really heartfelt drama and it got ripped to pieces and they tried to turn it into Deadpool, which it just wasn't supposed to be.” Ayer elaborated by saying, “It's an amazing movie, it just scared the s*** out of the executives."
Now, after the overwhelming success of the Snyder Cut, fans want the same treatment for Ayer’s Suicide Squad, sparking a new campaign "#ReleaseTheAyerCut." Ayer seems to agree that a better version of Suicide Squad exists, and he is eager to show it to the fans. Ayer said of the fan-led movements, "They love the characters, they just want to spend more time with it. And people are way more sophisticated about how movies are made and want to be participants in the journey. There's room for different things, different versions, different assets being shared with the audience. I think it just helps strengthen the community."
Sadly, Warner Media CEO Ann Sarnoff recently shot down the idea of releasing an ‘Ayer Cut,’ news to which Ayer himself responded on Twitter with a simple, “Why?” That being said, for years no one thought the Snyder Cut would get released. However, the studio seems to have gotten what it originally wanted with the upcoming sequel.
The new film is being helmed by Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and based on the first and extremely well-received The Suicide Squad trailer, Gunn’s film appears to be aiming for a much lighter and more comedic tone. So, it looks like Warner Bros. may get the R-rated Guardians of the Galaxy movie they had attempted to pull out of Ayer's film back in 2016, although this time it was the director's original intention instead of a last-minute course correction mandated by the studio.
The Suicide Squad is scheduled for release on August 6th, 2021.
Source: Entertainment Weekly