Artnewspress: David Ayer’s Suicide Squad has become a punchline in the comic book community in the years since its release. However, the director says that at one time the film may have been his ticket to run the DC Universe before James Gunn even stepped on a lot.
More than anything else, Suicide Squad is a lesson that studio politics can kill a film. It’s one of the main notes direct David Ayer has been hitting on his own crusade for the “Ayer Cut” to be released. Despite this, it seemed as though those very same politics could have made him the kingmaker at DC Studios, with the director saying people were wondering if he was going to replace Zack Snyder as the head of the DC Universe:
“During a time, during ‘Suicide Squad,’ when the dailies were coming in, people were like ‘Oh shit, maybe Ayer’s going to take over DC,’” Ayer spoke on Real Ones. “It’s ‘Game of Thrones’ in there. The palace politics were insane.”
In the end it was James Gunn, the director of Suicide Squad‘s spiritual successor The Suicide Squad, who took over as had of DC Studios after Zack Snyder. It seems as though this might be the best outcome for David Ayer short of himself taking over, as he’s confirmed talks with Gunn about releasing the Ayer Cut once the DC Universe is settled.
Is A David Ayer cut of Suicide Squad coming?
David Ayer’s journey with Suicide Squad has been a topic of discussion for a while now, primarily due to the perceived chasm between his original intentions and the end product that hit theaters. Through various interactions, Ayer has voiced his disappointment and frustrations regarding the radical shifts in the movie’s narrative and tone, influenced by studio decisions.
It’s currently unknown when or if the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad will be released. If it does, it will likely be categorized under the “Elseworlds” banner of films, which includes any projects not canon to the main DC Universe being constructed by James Gunn and Peter Safran. Current projects in this category include Joker: Folie à Deux and The Batman: Part II.
James Gunn and Peter Safran told journalists that their vision for the DC Universe includes locked scripts, wiggle room and a unified storyline across film, television, animation and video game projects. The two explained that the DC Universe could bring back elements from previous DC regimes, meaning that their eight-to-year plan is not a full reboot.
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