Last year saw the release of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, which hit the spot for critics and fans everywhere. It certainly landed better than the previous attempt in the franchise, David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, which also happened to star Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. His interpretation of the infamous task force missed the mark for many.
Despite that, in the end, the film’s box office grossed 746.8 million dollars worldwide. In contrast, Gunn’s only hit 167.4 million—though, obviously, there were several complicated factors to that, including the pandemic and its HBO Max premiere.
Six years later, Ayer’s movie is still being talked about. Why? Well, it’s all thanks to Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Because that project was given the time to release, many are demanding that Warner Bros. release ‘The Ayer Cut’. After all, it’s only fair, right?
While there’s no news that the studio has any intention of letting Cara Delevingne’s Enchantress terrorize audiences once again, David Ayer has reappeared on social media to not-so-subtly campaign for his movie to be released the way he intended.
What the Ayer Cut Needs for Release
David Ayer, the director behind 2016’s Suicide Squad, once again took to Twitter to reveal more information about the ‘Ayer Cut’ of his film—an idea sprung from the existence of Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
So what is left to do for the infamous version of his movie to be released? According to the director, there’s “no need for reshoots, [there’s] just some VFX work [needed],” contradicting previous reports that indicated otherwise.
When asked how different the Ayer Cut would be from what made it into theaters back in 2016, Ayer claimed how it is “shockingly different,” saying that it is “apples and oranges.”
Additionally, the director commented on that Flash cameo in the bank. He mentioned how “[Zack Snyder’s] team shot the Ezra plate [and he] shot Jai [Courtney] in the bank location.”
The tweet Ayer quoted, while noting who filmed what in the bank sequence, also pointed out how the Flash scene was Zack Snyder’s direction.
Will the Suicide Squad Director Get His Cut?
It’s imperative to point out that the existence of Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a miracle—for better or worse. The onset of the pandemic in Spring 2020 combined with the launch of a content-hungry HBO Max in May 2020 led to ideal circumstances for the Snyder Cut to get greenlit.
Those situations have come and gone. It’s highly unlikely that Warner Bros. has anything even in development related to the Synderverse, including David Ayer’s Suicide Squad.
Even if the Ayer Cut only has VFX work to do, that’s still a lot of time and resources which the studio would have to commit. Right now, they’re currently in the midst of massive change in leadership. The studios’ entire focus has shifted, and that new picture isn’t entirely clear.
For now, DC Comics and Suicide Squad fans will have to be content with what James Gunn gave them, including his spinoff show Peacemaker. In fact, he’s even making a show involving Amanda Waller, so at the very least, the world has not seen the last of Belle Reve.
Suicide Squad, The Suicide Squad, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and Peacemaker are all currently available to stream on HBO Max.
