What do we know about David Ayer's original version of Suicide Squad, and why are fans calling to #ReleaseTheAyerCut?
Last week, on March 13 and 14, fans took to Twitter in an event to raise awareness of David Ayer's Suicide Squad and to call for the release of his cut of the film. Spearheaded by the Release The Ayer Cut Twitter handle (@RTAyerCutSS) and funded by pages of Ayer's shooting script, fans tweeted #ReleaseTheAyerCut over two days, hitting around 415.1K on the first [1] and 225K on the second [2]. Note: the numbers may be higher; these are just the highest numbers I can find with screenshot evidence.) The fandom did excellent work achieving a total of 680.1K tweets, showing just how much demand and support there is for Ayer and his movie. During the event, around 35 segments of David Ayer's shooting script got posted on Twitter to build hype and discuss how different the film is from the Studio releases. And with that discussion, the same old rumours of Steppenwolf, Parademons, and Apocalypse connections got dragged back up again, to which Ayer has shot down time after time.
Let's briefly summarize what happened from Ayer's announcement of directing to the film's release to discuss how David Ayer's Suicide Squad is different from the Studio's releases - and the lost Apocalypse connections.
All the way back at the start, September 19, 2014 - Variety exclusively reported Warner Brothers (WB) circled David Ayer for DC Comics' Suicide Squad [3]. Then, on October 15, 2014, Kevin Tsujihara (then CEO of WB) officially announced a slate of nine films up to 2020 - and among these was "Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer (2016)" confirming Ayer had landed the job [4]. Ayer finally commented on the film to Empire Magazine on October 20, 2014, saying: "it's a Dirty Dozen with supervillains," and "does a movie really need good guys?" [5].
Cameras started rolling on April 14, 2015, with the announcement by Ayer himself on Twitter posting an image of the slate, under the code name "Bravo 14," tagging the tweet with "Day 1 #SuicideSquad" [6]. Towards the end of the shoot, WB held a panel at Comic-Con and presented the audiences an exclusive first look at Suicide Squad on July 12, 2015 [7]. The trailer then leaked to much praise, prompting WB to release it on July 14, 2015, officially [8]. Filming concluded around August 24, 2015 - and before heading to the wrap party, the Canadian news channel, CTV News, reported Margot Robbie and Jai Courtney stopped by a lemonade stand set up by a young sister to raise funds for her older disabled brother [9]. And sometime later, Ayer shared a picture of the cast and crew just after wrapping onset [10].
As of January 20, 2016, Warner Brothers had released the first official trailer for Suicide Squad [11], and it was only downhill from there. Batman v Superman was then released on March 19 at the earliest and finally released on the 25th in the US to trashing reviews worldwide, leading WB to reactionary reshoots on Suicide Squad as early as March 31 [12]. The film took on a pop-rock, brighter, comedic tone due to the overwhelming reception of the "Official Trailer 1" - with bright colours slowly seeping in, quick-cut edits to Queens "Bohemian Rhapsody," and comedic line drops. Mixed with Batman v Superman's reviews referring to a dark and sombre tone, Suicide Squad's "soulful drama was beaten into a 'comedy'," as Ayer would say [13]. Ayer tried to quell the rumours during the reshoots in a tweet on April 11, 2016, saying: "# SuicideSquad' reshoots for humour' is silly. When a studio loves your movie and asks what else you want, go for it! #ThanksWB #moreaction" [14]. Looking back now, it's obvious Ayer's comment wasn't faithful, and unfortunately, we all ended up with a botched film.
So what went on behind the scenes with the reshoots and re-edits of the film?
On August 3, 2016, Kim Masters of The Hollywood Reporter contributed her thoughts and inside information to the behind-the-scenes drama on Suicide Squad [15]. Masters noted that "a source with ties to the project" told her "[Ayer] wrote the script in like, six weeks, and they just went." You know it's a reliable source when they say, "in like, six weeks." Despite the casual nature of their quote, it's pretty easy to see Ayer had more than enough time to craft a story, given WB hired him anywhere from September 19 to October 15, 2014, and cameras rolling on April 14, 2015. Ayer had around six months to write the story, an extra twenty weeks more than the source told Masters. Given he wasn't writing the film literally the day before shooting, it isn't exactly six months - but it gets the point across that Ayer certainly had more time than rumours suggest.
It is also worth noting that the film David Ayer original wrote did not end up on film - large portions, but certain aspects did not. The script initially featured connections to the New Gods, but Ayer said, "all the Apocalypse elements [got] stripped out late in the game" and "that got changed in [the] script early prep[;] never went to camera" [16][17]. Ayer's "late in the game" and "early [pre-production]" don't line up that well, but it's safe to say it was well in time for shooting, as we saw behind-the-scenes shots of the "Eyes Of The Advisory" as early as May 23, 2015 [18]. City News 1130 got an exclusive look on the set of Suicide Squad on May 5, 2015, showing a sneak peek of the very set where someone captured a picture of the "Eyes Of The Advisory" costume, meaning it was ready well before the scene started shooting [19].
In my honest opinion, it was reasonably easy to prove Masters' source claiming Ayer only had six weeks false. If anything, they may have been intentionally or unknowingly referring to a rewrite removing the New Gods elements - which is a hell of enough time to complete that rewrite.
Something of value the article did bring up is the editing situation; Masters said, "Warners set about working on a different cut, with an assist from Trailer Park, the company that had made the teaser." The original editor on the film was John Gilroy and a team of other editors featuring Kevin Hickman. Gilroy ended up with the final credit, even though the Studio was trying to replace him - Gilroy did leave and worked on restructuring another reconstructed film, Rogue One. Hickman seems to have stayed for the entire ride, even offering information before and after the process - he then joined Gilroy on Rogue One [20].
On May 20, 2016 [21], WB screened two different cuts of Suicide Squad "with audiences in Northern California" - one by Ayer and a lighter, studio-favoured version. Charles Roven, Producer of the film, said the Studio wanted to replace Gilroy, to which Roven suggested Christopher Nolan editor, Lee Smith. In the same interview, Roven spoke about the test screenings of the different cuts, saying: "The interesting thing was, when we tested the Ayer version - to be honest, I can't sit here and remember how we got to that edited version, who was editing that edited version - but it wasn't Lee" [22]. At some point in the process, Lee Smith replaced John Gilroy, and from the information given, it seems Gilroy may not have completed Ayer's Studio cut for test screenings, but neither did Smith.
Interestingly, Ayer notes his cut is "a fully mature edit by Lee Smith standing on the incredible work by John Gilroy" [23], and that "the cuts tested were the studio cut and my version of the studio cut. This was literally the bat cut" [24]. It sounds like THE Ayer Cut is not the original cut, but the prefered cut with Smith, which seems like it took place on the side while they were editing the Studio's test screening cut. In Masters article, her source told her "the final editor was Michael Tronick," bringing the total known editors of the film - John Gilroy, Kevin Hickman, Trailer Park, and Lee Smith - to a minimum of four, all with varying cuts of the film.
And so with that - "how different is the movie?"
The movie would be vastly different in direction and structure, with the overall story primarily intact. Thank so to Kevin Hickman; we know "it was well over a million feet of film," which roughly translate to 18 hours (this would include alternate takes, complete takes from multiple angles, and like any ordinary film, an overabundance of footage unintended for use). WB wanted the "origin of the characters to happen much closer to the beginning and insert a level of comedy into the film," Hickman said. He continued to say, "we ended up having to restructure how the characters were introduced. That was something that we toyed with right up until the movie was finished. In the original structure, the characters are kind of introduced in [a] linear fashion and the way that it ended up, we spent the first 20 minutes like bam, here's this guy, bam, here's this person, here's their origin, here's their backstory. So we kind of shoved everything into the viewer's face right upfront so that we could get the story going. Whereas in the original structure, it kind of happened in many events. So you're, you know, 45 minutes in the movie, and now we're meeting this person and seeing their backstory. So we found a way to make the film more efficient as far as opening up and introducing all the characters."
Hickman also supports Ayer 100%, saying, "I would like to see David's final version of the film. I saw what David was trying to do with the film, and I thought it was a pretty bold film. It was less comedy. It was a much darker film. It was almost like a Black Hawk Down type thing. It was just very militarized, very serious." He continued to say, "I mean, of course, there were supposed to be comedic moments with Will Smith, but it was a darker film. I like where David was going with it, and it would be really nice to see him be able to finish what he started" [20].
When asked, "what was the toughest scene to leave on the cutting room floor" was Ayer replied, "The first 40 minutes" [25]. Ayer what the first 40 minutes are, saying: "In my cut, the first scene is June Moon discovering and releasing Enchantress in a jungle location. [The] next scene is an extended assault on Arkham by Joker's crew, then he electroshocks Harley. There was more to [the] club; and an argument between HQ and J in his car" [26]. The leaked script pages provide more context for these scenes, seen on the @RTAyerCutSS Twitter account.
Ayer also clarified the Joker torture scene got "reshot because the tone was 'too dark' - My first act was a normally constructed film. I took my inspiration from Nolan. There were real scenes with incredible acting between Jared and Margot. Joker was terrifying. Harley was complex" [27]. Two scenes altered from that 40 minutes were "Joker intimidat[ing] [Monster T] into killing himself" [28] [29], and "an opening sequence of how [Slipknot] got caught for the Suicide Squad program that was pretty cool," said Adam Beach [30] [31].
The entire third act seems to be reshot and reconstructed. Katana killed Incubus [32], and "Enchantress takes her over with a tendril, and she attacks the rest of the Squad" [33] [34] [35]. Enchantress grows 10 feet tall [36]. Joker's helicopter crashes [37], and he comes back [38] to make a deal with Enchantress to become King of Gotham [39] [40]. Killer Croc's "BET" line was not Ayers [41]. Diablo survives, and Harley hooks up with Deadshot [42] [43] [44]. Joker makes Harley leave Bell Rev at gunpoint [45]. Among other things missing are June Moon and Rick Flag exploring their relationship [46] and Killer Croc hiring Deadshot in the past [47].
The script is confirmed to be 126 pages [48], and the runtime is supposedly 2 hours and 22 minutes long (142 minutes) [49]. Some may think the runtime isn't much, but when you take out all the reshoots, there is quite a lot we are still yet to see. So don't worry about the runtime and think you are not getting much extra.
Some exciting things to note that Ayer has mentioned about the scrapped New Gods and Apocalypse connections in the original script before the one he shot.
November 25, 2018 - David Ayer replies, "This is right. Enchantress was under the control of a Mother Box, and Steppenwolf was prepping an invasion with a Boom Tube. I had to lose what then the JL story arcs evolved." [50]
November 25, 2018 - David Ayer replies, "Exactly — Steppenwolf was the original boss fight" to Richard Bullivant, who said, "And the big fella may have been Steppenwolf" [51].
December 29, 2019 - David Ayer replied, "It was supposed to be a boom tube as she was under the control of a Mother Box. All the Apocalypse elements were stripped out late in the game. The machine concept was an attempt to create a ticking clock and world threat" [52].
May 11, 2020 - David Ayer replies, "No, not enough for a Joker movie. Yes, Parademons. Yes, a Steppenwolf reveal at the very end. That got changed in script early prep never went to camera" [53].
May 29, 2020 - David Ayer replied, "We synced up storylines - Squad was the on-ramp for JL - which was a much more ambitious two-part movie arc with impressive scope. Squad was the appetizer for Zack's epic. 'Best laid plans,' as they say" [54].
May 31, 2020 - David Ayer replied, "The script did - it was rewritten to remove the New Gods elements" [55].
November 25, 2018 - David Ayer replies, "Exactly — Steppenwolf was the original boss fight" to Richard Bullivant, who said, "And the big fella may have been Steppenwolf" [51].
December 29, 2019 - David Ayer replied, "It was supposed to be a boom tube as she was under the control of a Mother Box. All the Apocalypse elements were stripped out late in the game. The machine concept was an attempt to create a ticking clock and world threat" [52].
May 11, 2020 - David Ayer replies, "No, not enough for a Joker movie. Yes, Parademons. Yes, a Steppenwolf reveal at the very end. That got changed in script early prep never went to camera" [53].
May 29, 2020 - David Ayer replied, "We synced up storylines - Squad was the on-ramp for JL - which was a much more ambitious two-part movie arc with impressive scope. Squad was the appetizer for Zack's epic. 'Best laid plans,' as they say" [54].
May 31, 2020 - David Ayer replied, "The script did - it was rewritten to remove the New Gods elements" [55].
Final Thoughts
That is what we know about The Ayer Cut, and this is why fans want to #ReleaseTheAyerCut. It's basically a finished film sitting in WB's vault, ready to be dusted off, in turn for a highly successful return on investment. It would mean the world to the fans and David Ayer. It's the right thing to do, stand by artistic integrity, and fight for those who don't have the power to stand up to a big studio. The outcome of releasing Ayer's movie is a win-win situation. WB makes extra money from existing material, Ayer gets his catharsis, fans get their film, and the people who loved the theatrical and extended cut get to keep their movie to watch. No one misses out. Ayer said it's "almost complete, minus some visual effects" [56], and it "would be easy to complete. It would be incredibly cathartic for me. It's exhausting getting your ass kicked for a film that got the Edward Scissorhands treatment. The film I made has never been seen" [57].
So, stand by Ayer, myself, and the rest of the fandom to realize this project and #ReleaseTheAyerCut. And if you made it this far, thanks for the read! I appreciate you taking the time to read this somewhat rushed article - I thought I had until the 21st. If there is any missing or incorrect information, let me know here or on Twitter @AfterHoursMedYT, and I will fix them!
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