David Ayer thinks there’s still a world where his vision of 2016’s Suicide Squad could be released, even with a new take on the team arriving this year.
Ayer spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the release of Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League and whether he still wants to see his director’s cut of Suicide Squad — or if there’s even a place for it in the DCEU. And though Warner Bros. has claimed it will not release an Ayer cut of the film, the director and writer still has hope.
“I think the studios see now that there can be canon, there can be non-canon, the fans just want to touch it,” Ayer said. “They love the characters, they just want to spend more time with it. And people are way more sophisticated about how movies are made and want to be participants in the journey. There’s room for different things, different versions, different assets being shared with the audience. I think it just helps strengthen the community. But absolute credit to Warner Bros. for supporting Zack and having the courage to explore that.”
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Though Ayer strikes a tone of respect when it comes to Warner Bros., he wasn’t afraid to point out that he hasn’t always seen eye to eye with them. After all, that’s what led to calls for his version of the 2016 film to see the light of day after the theatrical cut was so poorly received.
“I get it, it’s a business,” Ayer said. “It’s frustrating because I made a really heartfelt drama and it got ripped to pieces and they tried to turn it into Deadpool, which it just wasn’t supposed to be. And then you take the hit, you’re the captain of the ship, my name was on it. [Laughs] Even though it didn’t represent what I actually made, I would take all the bullets and be a good soldier. I made an amazing movie. It’s an amazing movie, it just scared the s— out of the executives.”
While Ayer may still hold out hope that his version of Suicide Squad could see the light of day, he knows it certainly won’t happen anytime soon with James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad arriving later this year. “That would be horrific brand management to do that… Let James crush it,” Ayer recently said.
Source: Entertainment Weekly