Summary
Suicide Squaddirector David Ayer owned one of his controversial choices about Jared Leto’s Joker. The post has spawned more conversation around the possibility of a director’s cut of the film, which has been a consistent talking point for years.
Suicide Squadwas released in 2016 and centered on subsequent fan-favorite Harley Quinn and other criminals and misfits as they face certain death on missions for the enigmatic Amanda Waller, pulling off the impossible for a chance at a reduced prison sentence. The film was met with negative reviews despite a superb box office, and 2021’sThe Suicide Squadwas generally seen as a rehabilitation of the team that was much more well-liked by audiences. It has since been explicitly confirmed that the 2016 film was not a total representation of director Ayer’s vision, similar to the first theatrical release ofJustice League. Consequently, fans andZack Snyder advocated for an Ayer cut ofSuicide Squad.
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Ayer, who has also frequently expressed hope that aSuicide Squaddirector’s cut would be released, has taken advantage of fan interaction on social media to own one of his bolder visual choices inSuicide Squad. On Twitter, a fan criticized Snyder and Ayer for retconning their work and using the alterations made before release as a shield for criticism in a thread about the Joker’s “Damaged” tattoo. Ayer replied with a post saying, “I own the tattoo idea 100%. It was my choice. Original idea is it would say ‘Blessed’ and not ‘Damaged.’ Now having said that — I regret that decision. It created acrimony and division. Not every idea is a good idea. And I’ll just be in the corner here while the internet slaps me around for this post. 😅”
The original intent of the tattoo, which is one of the most prominent features even in experimentaldesigns for Jared Leto’s Joker inSuicide Squad, has previously been explained by Ayer in a similar fashion on social media. In response to a fan inquiring about the forehead tattoo, Ayer responded, “It was Joker trolling Batman after getting his teeth punched in by him. It’s the one aesthetic choice I wish I hadn’t made. Caught a lot of smoke for it obviously.” Ayer has also alleged that this fact was set to be revealed in aJustice League 2scene between Leto’s Joker and Ben Affleck’s Batman that would reference the death of Robin.
Snyder had plans fora secondJustice Leaguefilmthat would be a feature-length Knightmare adaptation, bringing the comic storyline in which Darkseid’s murder of Lois Lane and utilization of the anti-life equation lead to a corrupted Superman ruling Earth with an iron fist as an ally of Apokolips to the dismay and resistance of Batman and others. How loosely the adaptation would have been done to maintain a mainstream audience has always been a question close to the minds of comic fans that engage with the idea.
The recent news about a former Warner Bros. Presidentconfirming the Snyderverse was profitablefor the company has only fanned the flames of fan interest in seeing a fully realized version of the overarching story that Snyder, Ayer, and others have teased over the years. The initiative to sell the Snyderverse to Netflix has been bolstered by this and the encouragement from those like Will Smith who were involved in the abridged projects. What the future holds for the Synderverse, if anything, will likely have to wait until after James Gunn’s new DCU has come into its own.
