Last week brought news that Zack Snyder’s original vision of Justice League would finally see the light of day after years of campaigning by fans. The Snyder Cut will stream on HBO Max sometime in 2021 and Warner Bros. is pouring millions of dollars into it so that Snyder can finish it properly.
In light of this news, the floodgates are beginning to open over demand for alternate cuts of other movies. Fans are now petitioning to see the 4-hour version of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, for instance. But it’s another pic that could get a re-release, as Warner Bros. is seriously considering bringing us the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad.
Director David Ayer has been providing insight into his experience making the antihero movie on social media and has let it be known that his original dark vision of Suicide Squad was altered by the studio after the disappointing reception of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. He also believes that the success of Deadpool led to Warner Bros. making Suicide Squad more funny and light.
According to Ayer, his version of the project was just as dark as Joker, which became the most successful R-rated comic book film in history, grossing more than $1 billion.
“Imagine if Todd Phillips film The Joker was reshot and recut because it was too dark – This is EXACTLY what happened to Suicide Squad. Anyone who says my cut did not work owes me to say it directly to me.”
A comparison between the two pics sounds apt. They’re both DC related, but they couldn’t be more different. Suicide Squad was an expensive production tying into Warner Bros.’ DCEU and they had a lot riding on the movie, hence the meddling.
Joker, on the other hand, was a much smaller film with no connection to any other franchise. It was made as a one-off by Phillips and company. I’m sure everyone involved had high hopes for how well it would do, but they didn’t have any idea it would become such a sensation.
Warner Bros. relenting and giving fans what they want in regards to Justice League has the potential to set a bad precedent in terms of fan influence. There’s a certain a group of people who spew toxic rhetoric and there’ve been examples of misogyny and racism including the treatment towards Leslie Jones in Ghostbusters and Kelly Marie Tran in The Last Jedi. Some believe Ayer is only encouraging such behavior by continuing to engage with fans about Suicide Squad. To no surprise, though, Ayer disagrees with that assessment, saying:
“How? By articulating my truth? By being loyal to my vision? I understand that much larger social dynamics are always at play with everything.”
Ayer probably sees the overwhelming support for the Snyder Cut and figures why can’t he get the same treatment. I’m sure any director scorned by studio interference would love to see their original vision released into the world. But it doesn’t always work that way. After all, we can’t always give fans what they want.