Suicide Squad was released in 2016 to negative reviews, but even seven years on, the movie remains at the forefront of many minds. The #ReleaseTheAyerCut movement still has a vocal following on social media, and director David Ayer continues teasing his original plans for Task Force X's big screen debut before Warner Bros. stepped in and altered his vision.
Among the changes made by the studio was how The Joker's story ended.
In the version we all watched in theaters, the Clown Prince of Crime appeared to die after saving Harley Quinn's life by pushing her from that helicopter shortly before it crashed.
However, he returned in the movie's closing moments to reunite with Harley and break her out of Belle Reve. It was a weird scene considering the fact their relationship was obviously a toxic one, but we know at least some of what Ayer had planned.
In his cut of Suicide Squad, Harley and Deadshot were going to develop romantic feelings for each other. The Joker, badly burned from that crash (which saw him throw Harley out of the chopper not to save her, but to punish her for caring about her teammates), returned and briefly allied himself with Enchantress before dropping a grenade and making his escape.
That would have come after Harley wiped her hands with him once and for all, but it appears this was all too dark for Warner Bros. in the wake of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's negative reviews.
Now, the filmmaker has shared a new look at Leto's Joker from that original ending which you can check out below.
While we have no doubt that the "Ayer Cut" of Suicide Squad was a very different beast, it still feels like it's time to move on. After all, in the wake of The Suicide Squad's release and James Gunn now overseeing a reboot of the DCEU as DC Studios' co-CEO, it feels like the movie's time has been and gone.
Do you think the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad will ever see the light of day?