#ReleaseTheSnyderCut was a revelation in that director Zack Snyder was given a chance to release his version of Justice League years after WB officially released a re-cut version directed by Joss Whedon.
So many things had to be in place for the cut to happen—specifically, a global pandemic forced WB to look for things they could release without shooting anything.
With Snyder being able to release his original vision of the film, fans had also demanded that WB #ReleaseTheAyerCut of Suicide Squad 2016, which was said to have been heavily edited without the consent of director David Ayer.
While Ayer had said that he’d given up on releasing it, he’s now posted about the movement again and is riling up fans to help support the release of his version of the movie.
David Ayer Wants WB to #ReleaseTheAyerCut of Suicide Squad
In a recent post on his Twitter, Ayer released a poster demanding #ReleaseTheAyerCut with some art of Jared Leto’s Joker mouth. Check this out:
It’s worth noting that Ayer said in January that he was done pushing for his cut and that his experience with the making and unmaking of the film had ‘broken’ him.
When fans pointed this out to Ayer, he replied, “I may flip back and forth a few more times. Life isn’t a straight line. My journey is my journey. I’m an artist, not an accountant.”
Ayer then followed up the post with a look at his original shooting script. The Xs on the pages mean that the scenes had already been finished.
What Happened with the Original Suicide Squad?
As the story goes, Suicide Squad 2016 was supposed to be a darker film with almost the same tone as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but after the underwhelming reception of BvS, the studio execs were said to have demanded a new cut of SS that would have made it less dark and more comedic—around the same tone as Deadpool—resulting in the theatrical cut of Suicide Squad.
Though director David Ayer did participate in the film's promotion, he opened up years later about how the studio had decided to re-edit his movie and change the entire tone, removing elements like Harley and Joker’s toxic relationship and an affair between Harley and Deadshot.
It’s said that the closest fans will ever get to Ayer’s original cut of the film was the SDCC trailer that was released to promote the movie:
With Ayer being so positive about his original version of the movie—with the promise that nobody has seen Jared Leto’s ‘real’ performance as the Joker—fans immediately took to his side to demand WB #ReleaseTheAyerCut after #ReleaseTheSnyderCut became a success.
With James Gunn rebooting the DCEU with Superman next year, it seems that WB and many in the DC fandom have moved on from the original continuity started by Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel.
Admittedly, there isn’t a lot of hope for Ayer’s Suicide Squad to be released, but some fans hope that once James Gunn’s DCU has settled, there may be room to revisit a multiverse entry that’s Ayer’s Suicide Squad.
If Joker: Folie a Deux and The Batman continue, there’s room for a movie with clear fandom support that they don’t have to shoot.