It’s crazy to think, but it has been over seven years since the release of David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad.” And though that film did amazingly well at the box office, the filmmaker has consistently spoken out about how Warner Bros. completely changed his film in post-production and released a bastardized version of his superhero film. Now, for the better part of those seven years, Ayer has been championing the release of his original cut of the film, which he believes will redeem it in the eyes of fans and critics. Regardless of whether or not that happens, it’s clear the experience of making and releasing “Suicide Squad” has left an indelible mark on Ayer, which is something he recently spoke about.
During an interview with Jon Bernthal on the Real Ones podcast, David Ayer was asked what the most difficult time he’s experienced in Hollywood was. Though Ayer has worked on a number of high-profile films and hasn’t always had the best experiences, the filmmaker went back to “Suicide Squad” and talked about how that film “broke” him.
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“Hollywood—I tell people—is like watching someone you love get fucked by someone you hate,” explained Ayer. “The big one is ‘Suicide Squad.’ That shit broke me. That handed me my ass.”
He continued, “Come right off ‘Fury,’ right? I had the town in my hand—could’ve done anything, and I did do anything. And go on this journey with [‘Suicide Squad’]. And the same thing—authentic, truthful, let’s do all the rehearsal, let’s really get in each other’s souls. Let’s create this amazing, collaborative thing, right? And then ‘Deadpool’ opened, right? And they never tested ‘Batman v. Superman,’ so they were expecting a different result and then they got hammered by all the critics. Then it’s like, ‘Okay, we’re going to turn David Ayer’s dark, soulful movie into a fucking comedy now.’”
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This is a variation of the same story he’s been saying for the past seven years. WB was scared to release another serious, dark superhero drama after ‘BvS’ failed to connect with critics and underperformed at the box office. The way to course-correct, in the studio’s eyes, was to get a brand-new edit of “Suicide Squad,” focusing on the comedy. While the result was profitable, critics didn’t like the film, at all, and Ayer has really never been the same filmmaker.
Since then, Ayer has released 2017’s “Bright,” a Netflix film that was popular amongst viewers but was, once again, not a critical favorite, and 2020’s “The Tax Collector,” a mid-budget action-thriller that ultimately wasn’t a hit with critics and bombed at the box office. His next film is “The Beekeeper,” which is expected to arrive in 2024.
You can see a clip from the podcast interview below:
