Ayer Cut of 2016's Suicide Squad Actually Exists, Will Never See the Light Though
2016 was supposed to be a huge year for the DC Extended Universe.
Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice was supposed to compete with Marvel's Avengers in creating an epic shared universe the same year the supervillain-led project Suicide Squad would show a different side of the genre. Hope for DCEU's future was at an all-time high.
Neither film did as well as projected, and both were critically reviled. After that peak, the studio went on a mad scramble, continuously changing directions.
But as it turns out, the director's cut of one of those films exists, allegedly a much higher quality than the original.
Director David Ayer's version of Suicide Squad has been mentioned for a while. A few deleted scenes have even surfaced. Ayer naturally has said it's far better than the theatrical cut, with studio interference affecting his vision of the film.
Outside of Margot Robbie 's performance as anti-hero Harley Quinn, the movie was almost universally hated by fans and critics alike. But according to a Twitter user, Ayer's version exists in its entirety and has even been screened to at least one viewer.
A Twitter account @RTAyerCutSS – or Release the Ayer Cut – claimed online that they were shown Ayer's full 2 ½ hour version. They said it was a completely different story with a much deeper message and fans should forget the theatrical version of the film. These claims seemed baseless until three hours later when Ayer himself retweeted the claim with the GIF caption, "Facts."
It wouldn't be out of character for the studio to release the Ayer Cut. Zack Snyder released his original cut of Justice League four years after the theatrical release, the version he envisioned before he abdicated control of the film to Joss Whedon after a personal tragedy. Zack Snyder's Justice League was released in 2021 exclusively on HBO Max with a much higher audience and critical ratings.
Working against the release of the Ayer Cut is the new direction the company seems to be making. They overhauled their organization, giving creative control to Gunn in the future, and named David Zaslav as CEO. Under Zaslav, they shelved Batgirl despite it being ready for a 2022 release, proving that the budget is now the biggest priority.
Does it make sense to pour money into releasing an alternative cut? While it was appreciated by fans, releasing the Snyder Cut didn't prove profitable from the business end. The release seems especially unlikely after the film's 2021 sequel/remake, James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. Still featuring Robbie as its star, it boasted far higher ratings and spawned a spin-off series, Peacemaker.
Fans may crave the Ayer cut, but ultimately if it doesn't make financial sense, it will remain unreleased.