Once Zack Snyder’s Justice League shifted from a long-held dream to a reality when it was announced the mythical re-edit was officially in the works for HBO Max, the focus almost instantly shifted to David Ayer’s original vision for Suicide Squad. We were inundated with rumors that it was on the cusp of getting the green light, allowing a second filmmaker to atone for the heavily compromised movie forced upon them by Warner Bros. But, it didn’t happen.
Not only did WarnerMedia exec Ann Sarnoff categorically deny that there was any chance of a Suicide Squad V2.0 coming to streaming, Ayer eventually gave up the ghost himself. In a long, passionate statement to his supporters, the director thanked them for their unwavering support and praised the various online campaigns trying to drum up awareness, but said he was moving on from the Ayer Cut.
Does that mean the speculation is over? Not by a long shot. According to Geekosity‘s Mike Sutton, the all-new version of the commercially successful but critically panned DCEU blockbuster could be heading to HBO Max as soon as next year. Admittedly, Sutton’s information comes largely from himself and contradicts everything we’ve heard from the studio so far, but that doesn’t mean it can be 100% ruled out.
On the other side of the coin, it makes Warner Bros. look like total idiots if the top brass keeps copping to having made bad movies and allow directors a second bite at the cherry, so for now it’s best to wait and see what the future holds for the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad without getting too hyped.