Here's What Jared Leto Really Thinks About A Potential Ayer Cut Of Suicide Squad
When director Joss Whedon's attempt at "Justice League" made its silver screen debut in 2017, it couldn't have been more clear that something went wrong behind the scenes. Knowledge of former director Zack Snyder's departure from the project wasn't hidden, and the world knew Whedon reshot large portions of the film, but the final result shocked everyone all the same. The Frankenstein's monster of a comic book movie fell short by nearly every metric, prompting dedicated DCEU fans to birth the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement, which hoped to convince Warner Bros. to allow the original director to complete his vision for the project.
After years of relentless online campaigning, speculation, and cryptic teases, Zack Snyder's version of "Justice League" finally came to fruition. It hit HBO Max in March of 2021, supplying fans with a whopping four hours of desaturated, slow-mo, superhero action. While this was clearly a huge win for the fandom, it didn't take long for the former Snyder Cut crowd to jump over to another internet-based movement: #ReleaseTheAyerCut. Reported studio meddling in director David Ayer's "Suicide Squad" from 2016 had led them to lobby for a revised edition of the film that closer resembled Ayer's initial concept.
At the time of this writing, the supposed Ayer Cut of "Suicide Squad" has yet to materialize, but fans continue to fight the good fight. Jared Leto — the man behind the movie's tattooed take on the Joker — has tossed in his two cents on the matter, and his comments are sure to excite supporters of the cause.
Leto supports an Ayer Cut streaming release
Much like "Justice League," "Suicide Squad" had a rough go when it hit theaters in 2016. Despite being a major box office success — raking in roughly $756 million on an approximate $175 million budget –, it missed the mark with critics and fans alike. Its cookie-cutter villains, disjointed tone, and nonsensical story didn't fly, so when word of David Ayer's desired "soulful drama" approach to the story got around, people loudly expressed their interest. Jared Leto is no exception, telling Variety that he thinks Warner Bros. should make it happen on the small screen.
"Why not? Why wouldn't they? I mean, that's what streaming's for, right?" asked the "House of Gucci" star, raising an excellent point about modern film release methods. With streaming gaining more and more traction, now is as good a time as any for studios to invest heavily in platform-exclusive content. Ayer himself appears to agree, writing in a Twitter post that "If you own IP and you have a mandate to monetize it from your shareholders that's exactly what you do." At the same time, it's important to account for how "Zack Snyder's Justice League" performed on HBO Max to deduce whether or not such an endeavor is worthwhile for WB to try again.
Will the David Ayer cut of "Suicide Squad" ever see the light of day? Many didn't think Snyder's "Justice League" would, and here we are. Therefore, time will tell, but Jared Leto's support is surely good news for fans hoping to check it out someday.