As James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad prepares to hit theaters and HBO Max, some viewers are calling for David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad to be revaluated. It appears that a superhero fans have diverted their attention from the #SnyderCut (a.k.a. Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League, which was released on HBO Max in March) to what’s being called the #AyerCut. Last week, the director penned an emotional tweet about his version’s existence. Now, a few Suicide Squad cast members are addressing the topic.
A trio of actors answered questions about saga at The Suicide Squad’s recent premiere. “I think that’s all a very complicated situation that I am probably not responsible for,” Margot Robbie, who plays Harley Quinn in both Ayer’s 2016 film and Gunn’s new release, told Variety. “I would want to see the cut of every movie I’ve been a part of that I’ve never seen,” she added, noting that actors who don’t produce their own films aren’t often afforded the opportunity.
Joel Kinnaman, who plays Colonel Rick Flag in both films, also expressed support for Ayer’s cut. “Yeah, why not? You always want to see the director’s vision,” he said when asked about the release. John Cena, who plays Peacemaker in Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, seemed to agree: “It’s in a company’s best interest to listen to their audience, and if it’s something that’s so in demand and they got it, why not?”
Though Ayer’s Suicide Squad was financially successful, the director recently shared his dissatisfaction with the theatrical version of the film. “I put my life into Suicide Squad,” he wrote. “I made something amazing. My cut is intricate and emotional journey with some bad people who are shit on and discarded (a theme that resonates in my soul).” He added, “The studio cut is not my movie. Read that again. And my cut is not the 10 week director’s cut — it’s a fully mature edit by Lee Smith standing on the incredible work by John Gilroy [the credited editor on Suicide Squad]. It’s all Steven Price’s brilliant score, with not a single radio song in the whole thing. It has traditional character arcs, amazing performances, a solid third-act resolution. A handful of people have seen it.”
Ayer went on to write, “I never told my side of the story and never will … I’m old school like that. So I kept my mouth shut and took the tsunami of sometimes shocking personal criticism.” He then concluded his comments by extending an olive branch to Warner Bros. “I support WB and am thrilled the franchise is getting the legs it needs … James’ brilliant work will be the miracles of miracles.”
Prior to the movie’s release, sources told The Hollywood Reporter that the studio commissioned competing cuts of Suicide Squad by multiple editors and only allotted Ayer six weeks to write the script. At the time, Warner Bros. issued a statement claiming that although there was “a lot of experimentation and collaboration along the way…this is a David Ayer film.”
Since then, Ayer has sounded off about his Suicide Squad experience several times on Twitter. In May 2020, he tweeted that his “soulful drama was beaten into a ‘comedy’” following mixed reviews for Batman v. Superman and positive ones for Deadpool. Last October, Ayer claimed his movie “was ripped to pieces.” Still, WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff told Variety in March, “We won’t be developing David Ayer’s cut.” “Why?” Ayer subsequently asked on Twitter.
Gunn’s Suicide Squad premieres on August 6.
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