The trailer for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad has fans excited about Task Force X’s next big-screen adventure. Regardless, David Ayer is still thinking about his original Suicide Squad movie from 2016. Ayer has long expressed a desire for moviegoers to see the film he originally set out to make before Warner Bros. forced him to make a number of changes. And while studio execs have claimed there are no plans to release an “Ayer Cut,” the director isn’t giving up hope just yet.
Entertainment Weekly recently spoke with Ayer about his fight to release Suicide Squad as it was meant to be seen. Ayer cited the recent success of Zack Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max. In his view, there’s definitely a market for alt-universe stories set outside the current DCEU status quo.
“I think the studios see now that there can be canon, there can be non-canon, the fans just want to touch it,” said Ayer. “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. But absolute credit to Warner Bros. for supporting Zack and having the courage to explore that.”
RELATED: Warner Bros. Says No To an ‘Ayer Cut’ of Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad was memorably torn apart by critics when it hit theaters almost five years ago, and Ayer continues to pin the film’s poor reception on studio interference. He once again insisted that the producers feared another “dark” movie like Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice would spell doom for the larger DCEU. However, he genuinely seems to believe that his uncompromised film would have been its saving grace.
“I get it, it’s a business,” added Ayer. “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. And then you take the hit, you’re the captain of the ship, my name was on it. [Laughs] Even though it didn’t represent what I actually made, I would take all the bullets and be a good soldier. I made an amazing movie. It’s an amazing movie, it just scared the s*** out of the executives.”
Are you still hoping to see an Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad in the future? Let us know in the comments down below!
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