Suicide Squad: How The Ayer Cut's Joker Is Different From The Theatrical Version

Zack Snyder's preferred cut of the DCEU tentpole film "Justice League" was a fantasy until it wasn't. The official release of "Zack Snyder's Justice League" not only placated Snyder's devotees but inspired fans of comic book properties that similarly flopped in movie form to rally behind more hypothetical director's cuts. David Ayer's "Suicide Squad" is one such film. In fact, the director himself is hoping to make its rerelease a reality. Ayer even promised his "Suicide Squad" cut will change history, suggesting a revelatory work is hidden in his middling antihero team-up film — or he at least wants his fans to think so in hopes of securing the so-called Ayer Cut's official approval.

Shortly after making this promise, Ayer responded to a fan on X, formerly known as Twitter, asking how the Joker (Jared Leto) would differ in the Ayer Cut from his depiction in the existing "Suicide Squad" film. Ayer suggested that in his personal edit, the Joker is both more evil and prominent. "Joker is formidable intense and a force of nature in my cut. Not unfocused and silly. In my cut he has a story arc that hangs powerfully over the entire film," Ayer wrote. "In the studio cut he's a prop not a character."

In David Ayer's 2016 "Suicide Squad" film, the Joker is more of a side character in Harley Quinn's (Margot Robbie) storyline than a core member of the Suicide Squad team. Nevertheless, portraying arguably the most iconic villain in comic book movie history was something Leto took plenty seriously.

Notoriously, Leto developed a reputation around this time as an on-set terror for sending gross gifts to some of his co-stars — though in 2021, Leto told Entertainment Weekly that rumors of some of the more vile items he supposedly gifted cast members were fabricated. Leto did, however, expose himself to disturbing material in order to better understand his "Suicide Squad" character's mindset. "There was a point where I was researching violence and was watching a lot of things that... things that it's arguable if anybody should even see," he told GQ. "It starts to just get inside of you, violence and some of those things."

As Ayer states in his tweet about the Ayer Cut, the Joker is effectively a prop in "Suicide Squad," which is at least a little strange in light of these sorts of comments from Leto. Presumably, then, if the Ayer Cut ever becomes a reality, fans will witness for the first time the fruits of Leto's purportedly intense preparation for the part.