DC’s Harley Quinn Drops Suicide Squad Ayer Cut Reference in Season 3

DC’s Harley Quinn Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max, and DC fans who have been following the show know all too well that the hunt for Easter eggs is on. The makers of Harley Quinn love sneaking references to all things DC in the animated series – from the movie and TV adaptations to the comic lore, to the real-life happenings in the fandom. Well, Harley Quinn Season 3 may only be getting started but it’s firing some shots at a topical subject in the DC fandom: The Ayer Cut! 

If you are not familiar with the reference, “The Ayer Cut” refers to DC’s Suicide Squad film that was released. After DC and Warner Bros. released both Suicide Squad (2016) and Justice League (2017), there was massive backlash from DC fans who felt that Warner Bros. studio executives had tampered with the directorial visions of both films. First came the campaign to get Zack Snyder’s true vision of Justice League released; that fan campaign was rewarded with Zack Snyder’s Justice League finally coming to HBO Max in 2021. With the success of Justice League Snyder Cut, fans have re-set their sights on getting director David Ayer’s true vision of Suicide Squad released, as well. 

Director David Ayer has been vocal about what his “cut” of Suicide Squad is all about – as well as fueling the fan campaign to get it released by releasing promo materials like images from his version of the film that were never seen theatrically. Ayer also had the following to say about his film: 

“I put my life into Suicide Squad,” Ayer said. “I made something amazing. My cut is intricate and emotional journey with some bad people who are shit on and discarded (a theme that resonates in my soul). The studio cut is not my movie. Read that again. And my cut is not the 10-week director’s cut – it’s a fully mature edit by Lee Smith standing on the incredible work by John Gilroy. It’s all Steven Price’s brilliant score, with not a single radio song in the whole thing. It has traditional character arcs, amazing performances, a solid third-act resolution. A handful of people have seen it.” 

As always, Harley Quinn seems to be walking the fine line of acknowledging DC fandom concerns while at the same time lightly mocking them. But who knows: maybe the show just made #ReleaseTheAyerCut one step closer to being a reality. 

DC’s Harley Quinn Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max.