Justice League's Zack Snyder Shares Support for Suicide Squad Director's Ayer Cut

By Tom Drew Updated:
Justice League, Suicide Squad

With the release of the Snyder Cut seemingly just a few months away, fans are growing excited to see Zack Snyder's original vision for Justice League in the form of a four-part miniseries. The director is hard at work on the project and supposedly chipping away at a new trailer, so it is only a matter of time before fans get treated to new footage from the series.

Snyder has also teased possible plans to finish his Justice League story on the comic book page, with the director saying he has spoken to legendary artist Jim Lee about a potential illustrated follow-up.

In the meantime though, David Ayer has been campaigning for his own cut: The Ayer Cut. Suicide Squad was one of many DC projects to be influenced by studio heads, with David Ayer stating that the first 40 minutes of the film were removed. Ayer may quietly be working on his own version of the film though, with evidence suggesting that the director is editing his own cut of Suicide Squad.

Now, Zack Snyder has opened up about the possibility of speaking to David Ayer about the original cut of Suicide Squad...

NEWS

As found by Reddit user r/maxgeorge98 from a stream by TheFilmJunkee, Zack Snyder was asked whether he had spoken to Suicide Squad director David Ayer about his Ayer Cut. In response, Snyder stated that he hadn't spoken to Ayer yet, but the original cut of Suicide Squad is on his "list of things to talk to him about:"

"I haven’t talked to David about it, but I’m sure I will — I know him quite well. I’ve just been swamped and y’know because of COVID, but y’know, it’s on my list of things to talk to him about."

Snyder continued to talk about why it was important to do so, saying that he hopes other would receive the same "generous support" that he has had with the release of the Snyder Cut:

"I support any filmmaker who needs to get their version of their movie, or their vision, sort of, seen because I’ve had such generous support, so I really would hope other people would get the same."

The full podcast and interview can be found below:

 

WHAT THIS MEANS

Zack Snyder is hard at work with his own projects, but it is very assuring to hear the director respond so positively to helping out a fellow filmmaker. David Ayer has been vocal about how Suicide Squad was meddled with, leading to the film massively underwhelming critics and fans alike. Therefore, it could take the powerhouse that is Zack Snyder to help Ayer get his own cut off the ground, with Warner Bros. seeming to want to keep the Justice League director in their good books.

Little is known about what Ayer's original Suicide Squad cut contained, though a lot of footage surrounding Jared Leto's Joker was supposedly removed. The film was also apparently darker, with the film being re-edited to match the popularity of the then-recently released Guardians of the Galaxy.

A darker version of Suicide Squad would be right up Snyder's alley, who is known for his grittier takes on the superhero genre. A potential collaboration between Ayer and Snyder could get fans a cut of Suicide Squad that they deserve.

- About The Author: Tom Drew
Tom Drew is the Executive Editor at The Direct. Tom writes for The Direct's Marvel, Star Wars, and DC branches while specializing in all things movies, from blockbuster to indie darlings.