Suicide Squad Director David Ayer Says Harley Quinn’s Story Was “Eviscerated” for Political Reasons

Suicide Squad director David Ayer says that Harley Quinn’s story got “eviscerated” because of political reasons. The filmmaker said this on Twitter when a fan asked why he took the direction that he did with the character. He could be referring to studio mandates or merely preferences, but it is hard to say. That fan was wondering why Harley ended up being so sexualized in Suicide Squad as opposed to her portrayal in Birds of Prey. Ayer seems to be arguing that there was a lot that was out of his hands during the creative process. It’s been a while since that film though, and fans can look forward to what James Gunn is bringing to the character in The Suicide Squad.

Ayer wrote, “Sadly her story arc was eviscerated. It was her movie in so many ways. Look I tried. I rendered Harley comic book accurate. Everything is political now. Everything. I just want to entertain. I will do better.”

It sounds like he would go about things a little bit differently next time. THR spoke to the most recent Harley filmmaker, Cathy Yan about how her film performed at the box office. Well, the director had a lot to say about how Birds of Prey was treated by different outlets. She seemed to have a problem with the perception more than anything else. The treatment of BOP is a bit eyebrow raising when taking it’s performance into account against other films in its wheelhouse. But, the “disappointing” stigma can be hard to shake.

“I know that the studio had really high expectations for the movie — as we all did. There were also undue expectations on a female-led movie, and what I was most disappointed in was this idea that perhaps it proved that we weren’t ready for this yet,” Yan explained. “That was an extra burden that, as a woman-of-color director, I already had on me anyway. So, yes, I think there were certainly different ways you could interpret the success or lack of success of the movie, and everyone has a right to do that. But, I definitely do feel that everyone was pretty quick to jump on a certain angle.”

Did you like Harley more in Birds of Prey or Suicide Squad? Let us know in the comments!