Now that Zack Snyder's Justice League has made its way to HBO Max, campaigning for alternate cuts of superhero films can finally be a thing of the past. I'm just kidding. It would appear as if things are just getting started, and the newest target is a director's cut of David Ayer's Suicide Squad.
While many fans have taken to adopting the #RestoretheSnyderVerse hashtag in favor of #ReleasetheSnyderCut, now that Snyder's film is out in the wild, a section of DCEU fans is dividing their efforts to lend support to #ReleastheAyerCut as well. Some folks just want to watch the world burn, while others simply want more of the thing they love.
Recently while addressing the future of the DCEU, WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff explained that Warner Bros. is not interested in releasing Ayer's intended version of Suicide Squad. "We won’t be developing David Ayer’s cut," said Sarnoff, which sounds rather definitive to me. However, Ayer is still holding out hope that fan demand will prevail, much like it did in the case of Zack Snyder's Justice League.
"I think the studios see now that there can be canon, there can be non-canon, the fans just want to touch it," Ayer told Entertainment Weekly. "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."
It's well known throughout the film community that Ayer's Suicide Squad got mucked with after the failed reception to Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As the story goes, Warner Bros. saw the box office returns for Snyder's follow-up to Man of Steel and freaked out. In the wake of the film's failure, the studio opted to attempt a course-correct with Suicide Squad, hoping to make it lighter in tone. Thus, reshoots were ordered, and the film transformed into something it never intended on being.
"I get it, it's a business," Ayer told EW. "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's version of Suicide Squad may differ from the cut that was released in theaters, it's clear that the studio has moved on from their mistake. Case in point, a reboot of the Task Force X franchise from director James Gunn is set to launch in theaters and on HBO Max on August 4th. With a new director, tone, and overall place within the DCEU, I would bet that chances for an Ayer Cut are slim to none.
What do you think of all of this? Is there enough energy behind the #ReleasetheAyerCut hashtag to force Warner Bros. to cave? Will another version of Suicide Squad sell subscriptions to HBO Max? Is Ayer's version of the film actually complete? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.