As DC fans know all too well, there’s another cut of David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” dubbed the “The Ayer Cut,” a longer, much darker version of the theatrical version that the filmmaker himself has basically disavowed (henceforth known as #TheAyerCut for the purposes of this article). Given the release of “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” his very different, much darker version of the Joss Whedon directed “Justice League,” DC fans have been clamoring for an #AyerCut film, and it’s been discussed on social media for years.
However, the unofficial/official Ayer Cut Twitter channel gave out bad news to fans of David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad,” writing on social media that Ayer had essentially moved on for now.
“So I think this might be the end of an era, guys😭,” the account wrote earlier this week. “I had a chat with @DavidAyerMovies, and the mood isn’t sounding too good right now on the Ayer Cut front, and probably not for a few years unless things change. I want to thank everyone who [has] been supporting the movement for the ride.”
And today, in since-deleted Tweets, Ayer essentially confirmed the news and urged fans to move forward.
“Nothing about the situation feels good,” he wrote. “[The] studio has no interest in releasing it. It’s time to run and not look back.”
In another since-deleted post, Ayer added: “Don’t need to be walking around with a begging bowl. Gonna protect my heart more moving forward.”
One simple tweet that says it all that Ayer has not deleted: “I am done with DC.”
And that seems to be the end of it, which honestly shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone despite some hope that Ayer gave earlier in the year.
James Gunn and Peter Safran are about to reboot the DC Extended Universe and change it to the DC Universe with their newly-minted DC Studios.
They’re starting over, ditching the past, and moving on from all of the past minus three characters (one of them ironically from Ayer’s “Suicide Squad,” in Viola Davis as Amanda Waller).
Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy” won’t arrive until the summer of 2025, and Gunn and Safran certainly don’t want distractions or giving fans hope about changing their minds. Thus, #TheAyerCut kind of seemed doomed from the minute Gunn and Safran were announced as the new DC Studios co-CEOS.
His cut was very different, and he explained it all in a long tweet written a few days before this recent new revelation of being “done” with DC, noting that it had a “complete Joker arc and that character was scary and formidable. Harley had an arc – it was her movie. Diablo lived. Different ending.”
“It’s not a matter of a new scene or two,” he said. “I honestly cannot think of [a] director cut/studio cut with more difference between them. A lot of the popular issues with ‘Suicide Squad’ are endemic to the studio version. I made a drama, not a clown show. I made a great movie. “
That said, Gunn kinda gave Ayer a bit of hope a few months ago, telling the filmmaker that [Gunn’s trying to figure that whole mess out, and [#TheAyercut is] possible, but they need to put some scores up on the board first.”
And putting up scores on the board, plural, is undoubtedly a few years away as so far, only “Superman: Legacy” has a release date, and we may only receive one DC film a year for 2026 and beyond unless something changes soon. Perhaps, in a way, nothing has changed. Maybe it’s a possibility one day. But it’s not happening any time soon. Ayer obviously hasn’t heard any positive news lately, and he’s hoping everyone moves on (I mean, at least for now; the guy did suggest positive news a month ago, so who knows).
For his mental well-being, that’s not a bad idea anyhow. Ayer’s got a new film coming out soon anyhow, “The Beekeeper” with Jason Statham, and it’s probably better for his state of mind to move on for now.