Suicide Squad: David Ayer Says He’s “Done” With DC, “Studio Has No Interest in Releasing” Director’s Cut

Despite teasing his director’s cut of 2016’s Suicide Squad, filmmaker David Ayer now says he’s “done” talking about the film. In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, David Ayer started it all with a firm clarification on his position of Suicide Squad‘s director’s cut, noting: “I’m done with DC.” When asked once again if this meant he really wasn’t going to fight for the release of his extended version of Suicide Squad, Ayer replied: “Nope. Done and done.Very sad. You’ll be fine after a good cry. I feel healthier. It’s a wound that needs to heal.” 

Another DC fan asked if this change of heart about the Suicide Squad Ayer Cut had anything to do with James Gunn taking over DC Studios are Warner Bros., to which Ayer said: “Nothing about the situation feels good. Studio has no interest in releasing it. It’s time to run and not look back.” Yet another on X accused Ayer of flip flopping on whether he wanted the extended cut of Suicide Squad released or not, noting that Ayer has “been saying this for years,” prompting Ayer to reply: “Naw I’m good. Don’t need to be walking around with a begging bowl. Gonna protect my heart more moving forward.” In response to one fan saying that the final product of Suicide Squad felt like an “inside job” and not Ayer’s intention, David Ayer replied: “I got sniped on that one JFK style.”

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Suicide Squad Ayer Cut Differences

Previous reveals about the Suicide Squad Ayer Cut have been confirmed by the director himself and the cast and crew of the movie, including moments like Jared Leto’s Joker having more screentime, including a major return in the third act; a romance between Harley Quinn and Deadshot; more backstory for some characters and confirmed on-screen deaths for others that just disappeared in the theatrical venison; scenes depicting Joker’s abusive attitude toward Harley Quinn; plus, the character of Diablo would have survived the events of the movie.

“I put my life into Suicide Squad,” Ayer previously wrote in an extensive open letter about the director’s cut of the DC movie. “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.”    

After DC fans had successfully lobbied for the completion and release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the four hour extended cut that premiered on HBO Max, there was hope from fans that the same treatment would come for David Ayer and Suicide Squad. Even before Snyder’s director’s cut could be released however, WB made it clear they weren’t bringing out the longer version of the 2016 film. “We won’t be developing David Ayer’s cut [of Suicide Squad],” Ann Sarnoff, Chair and CEO of WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group, told Variety back in March of 2021.

Now with David Ayer seemingly throwing in the towel for the final time, the likelihood of watching Suicide Squad’s Ayer Cut seems as unlikely as ever.