Suicide Squad Director David Ayer Answers Major Harley Quinn and Joker Mystery

In the weeks since the announcement that Zack Snyder’s Justice League is headed to HBO Max, a move that will let fans finally see what the filmmaker’s vision for the DC Extended Universe film realized, there have been calls for the “Ayer Cut” of David Ayer‘s 2016 Suicide Squad as well, with Ayer confirming on social media that such a cut does exist as well as revealing some differences between his version and what made it to theatrical release. But there have also been rumors about some elements of the film, including one that claims Joker (Jared Leto) pushed Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) from the helicopter and now Ayer is clearing that one up revealing that Joker did in fact push Harley, just not with the intent you’d expect.

The scene in question appears in the roughly the third act of the film in which Joker attacks the Suicide Squad, freeing Harley. The pair are flying away in a helicopter Joker has hijacked when it is shot down by Amanda Waller’s men. In the theatrical cut, while Joker is a bit menacing toward Harley, she’s seen falling out of the helicopter and landing on a building while Joker is believed dead in the aircraft’s crash. Fans have long wondered if in Ayer’s cut of the film Joker actually pushed Harley from the helicopter and on Friday, a fan asked just that, wondering if the Clown Prince of Crime intended to kill Harley in the process. Ayer confirmed that Joker did push Harley, but not to kill her.

The idea that Joker would push Harley out of the helicopter is an interesting one. Given the toxicity of their relationship, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if Joker had intended to push his girlfriend to her death, but the idea that he would push her out of a crashing helicopter to save her considering that she did land safely on a building also weirdly makes sense given the extraordinary lengths he went to in Suicide Squad to rescue her from Belle Reve.

Ayer’s explanation that Joker does push Harley out of the helicopter is just the latest bit of information the filmmaker has offered fans about his version of the film. He’s previously revealed other information, such as that he wanted Diablo to survive the movie, Deadshot and Harley to fall for each other, a different opening scene for the film involving June Moone and Enchantress and even a cut scene in which Joker drove Tattoo Man to suicide. Still, even with the changes, Ayer has stood by the theatrical release even though it is what he previously described as “one of the toughest things” about making a film.

“This cut of the movie is my cut. There’s no sort of parallel universe version of the movie, the released movie is my cut,” Ayer said in 2017. “And that’s one of the toughest things about writing, shooting, and directing a film, is you end up with these orphans and you f—ing love them and you think they’d be amazing scenes and do these amazing things but the film is a dictatorship, not a democracy, and just because something’s cool and charismatic doesn’t mean it gets to survive in the final cut. The flow of the movie is the highest master.”

What do you think about Ayer’s revelation about that Harley/Joker rumor? Let us know in the comments below.