David Ayer has always maintained that his original take on Suicide Squad was very different to the movie that Warner Bros. would ultimately release, and recently stated that he made "an amazing movie" that "just scared the shit out of the executives."
The director never really elaborated on what exactly made them so nervous, but the studio was clearly more open to the prospect of an R-rated Suicide Squad movie by the time James Gunn pitched his idea for a sequel/reboot.
Gunn sent out the following Tweet when Collider shared the details of their 2019 set visit, and Ayer had a very brief, but telling response of his own.
Ayer is clearly a little disappointed that it took WB so long to embrace a more adult-orientated take on Task Force X, but as Gunn points out in his follow-up Tweet, some of the key people making those decisions are different now.
"Although a lot of the major players at Warners were different people, there was no doubt their troubles with you helped to pave an easier path for me, David, so I’m very grateful for that, and for everything else you did to help this movie along its path."
Warner Bros. boss Ann Sarnoff hasn't been swayed by the #ReleaseTheAyerCut campaign, and recently made it very clear that she has no intention of allowing Ayer to revisit Suicide Squad. There's always a chance this exchange could renew interest, but we won't be holding our breath!