SUICIDE SQUAD Director David Ayer Reveals Why Warner Bros. Wanted El Diablo To Be Killed Off

SUICIDE SQUAD Director David Ayer Reveals Why Warner Bros. Wanted El Diablo To Be Killed Off

Suicide Squad director David Ayer has shared more insight into the changes made to his movie by Warner Bros., explaining why the studio felt the only way El Diablo's story could end was with his death.

By JoshWilding - Sep 10, 2020 01:09 AM EST
Filed Under: Suicide Squad

No one ever expected it to happen, but Justice League: The Snyder Cut is coming to HBO Max next year, and that's given fans hope that the director's cut of David Ayer's Suicide Squad will also one day see the light of day. There's a tonne of footage that was left on the cutting room floor, of course, and Ayer continues dropping hints about what his version looked like.

Now, the filmmaker has elaborated on what he had planned for El Diablo, confirming that the Task Force X member was indeed set to survive the events of the movie...before Warner Bros. decided otherwise.

Asked on Twitter whether the magically powered anti-hero was always destined to meet his maker, Ayer explained: "The argument was because he killed his family he had to die. It was either that or the backstory of his family would have been cut. Sometimes it’s just triage to protect against a worse outcome."

In Suicide Squad's disappointing final battle, Jay Hernandez's El Diablo transformed into a giant CGI demon before blowing himself up, and it definitely didn't feel like the best end for the character. While he was guilty of killing his family, seeing him come to terms with that as he continued trying to find redemption moving forward could have been infinitely more interesting.

What do you guys think? 
 

 

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ThorArms
ThorArms - 9/10/2020, 2:07 AM
Let it die, Ayer
GarthRanzz
GarthRanzz - 9/10/2020, 8:35 AM
@ThorArms - Why would it bother you if its released? If it brings enjoyment to others, it shouldn't effect you.
ThorArms
ThorArms - 9/10/2020, 11:19 AM
@GarthRanzz - did I say it would bother me? Don't believe I did...

Ayer claimed for years that his cut was very close to what was shown, now he just won't let this thing go. The movie is FOUR years old. It's time to let it die. I don't think the movie would've been much better at all. Ayers last couple films have been really bad imo
massdeath
massdeath - 9/10/2020, 2:14 AM
Look, maybe his cut was marginally better but the film that was released was god awful. I didn’t see anything worth pursuing or exploring further. Honestly, I’m sick of this whole “magic director’s cut” nonsense. It’s just fanboy wishful thinking. I just recently rewatched MOS and BvS Ultimate and they were...really not very good. What on earth would make anyone think that Snyder will somehow make a mind blowing JL when all of his instincts in the previous two films was entirely off mark? The same can be said for Ayer’s SS, from the promo pics to the actual released film nothing was right or even appealing. What makes you think he secretly had a true Godfather II left on the cutting room floor?
aresww3
aresww3 - 9/10/2020, 4:32 AM
@massdeath - Honestly the difference is I think Ayer has better instincts. Training Day alone shows me he's a better storyteller. Plus I enjoyed the characters in Suicide Squad. Loved Amanda Waller, loved Harley Quinn And Deadshot. Hell I even thought Jai Courtney was good in the movie. Personally, if I had a vote to see this or the Snyder Cut, I'm very torn on which way I'd go.

Going off what I'd probably enjoy more, I'd pick Ayer Cut. Going off curiosity, just to see how bad it really is, I'd go the now mythic Snyder Cut.

But I really liked the direction Geoff Johns and Walter Hammada were going, until the DCEU was injected once again with a lethal infusion of an empowered Snyder Cult lead by Jason Mamoa and Snydborg.
ReverseFlasher
ReverseFlasher - 9/10/2020, 6:55 AM
@aresww3 - training day was elevated mostly by its direction and acting, and it doesnt help ayers case that hes basically written and made the same movie like five times now. They are both overly misogynistic storytellers but imo ayer is way worse bc he fancies himself more of a true storyteller (like you feel), whereas snyder knows hes not making oscar fare, and has just been adapting pulpy comic shit for like two decades now. He really is a director above all, not a writer.
dracula
dracula - 9/10/2020, 2:19 AM
Well he was the best character in the movie, even if whatever arc he went through was rushed.

Wonder why accidently killing his family means he had to die, the team is filled with intentional killers
Origame
Origame - 9/10/2020, 2:55 AM
@dracula - i can kind of see the point. He was probably the closest to an actual good guy on the base team (not counting like rick flagg or katana of course). So he's at that morality where its like "this is unforgivable".
aresww3
aresww3 - 9/10/2020, 4:35 AM
@dracula - I thought Amanda Waller was easily the best acted and most interesting character. There was some dumb writing around the character, but Viola was pitch-perfect.

But really apart from Killer Croc and the soldier guy, I liked all the characters in Suicide Squad. I liked how multicultural the cast was as well, while not throwing it in our face.
AnimatedTdot
AnimatedTdot - 9/10/2020, 10:27 AM
@dracula - yea im confused on that one too
dracula
dracula - 9/10/2020, 2:25 AM
Speaking of bad movies, possibly getting a new cut

Francis Ford Coppola is recutting The Godfather 3, into The Godfather Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone

You know a director who actually deserves final cut approval

Also at least Godfather 3 is decent.

A directors cut should not be needed to make a movie good. If Lord Of The Rings was crap, who would bother watching the 4 hour cuts. An extended cut should not be needed to explain the story, a directors cut should only happen, if a movie is already good and the extended content just goes into more detail.
BillyBatson1000
BillyBatson1000 - 9/10/2020, 2:49 AM
@dracula - If you watch 3 on a separate night, independent of the previous films, it's not that bad. There are great ideas there, but the production standards don't meet them.
dracula
dracula - 9/10/2020, 2:51 AM
@BillyBatson1000 - Well according to him this will be a much better ending, new shots, new music, new scenes. Says it will be closer to what him and Mario Puzo intended when they started developing the movie, focusing more on Michael's regret, less on mob stuff
BillyBatson1000
BillyBatson1000 - 9/10/2020, 6:53 AM
@dracula - Definitely onboard to see that. I wish they hadn't lost Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen, he was a great anchor for everything in the previous films. I read an interview once where Duvall said that Coppola had phoned him to offer him the chance to reprise the role and Duvall asked if he could answer one question first. Then Duvall asked him if he was just doing it for the money. Coppola said 'yes' - and Duvall put the phone down.
dracula
dracula - 9/10/2020, 10:31 AM
@BillyBatson1000 - i heard Duvall turned him down because he wasn’t even being paid half of what Pacino was making, that he would have been fine with half, understood that pacino was the star, but was being offered 3 or 4 times less
BillyBatson1000
BillyBatson1000 - 9/10/2020, 2:28 PM
@dracula - That's not good, Duvall is an excellent actor - it would have been a loss of face and status.
dracula
dracula - 9/10/2020, 2:55 PM
@BillyBatson1000 - yeah, should have given him more money. Is for sure worth half of Pacino’s pay, especially considering they were willing to pay Sonny’s actor the same amount that he got for the first film for his cameo in the second
Uhhhhhh
Uhhhhhh - 9/11/2020, 12:59 AM
@dracula - A director's cut is almost always better than the theatrical release, if a director's cut exists. I'll take a director's vision over a corporate cut, which the SS theatrical was, any day of the week. There's absolutely no harm it being releaseed, especially seeing as it, unlike the Snyder Cut, was actually completed before WB got cold feet and had a trailer house recut it.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 9/11/2020, 2:34 AM
@BillyBatson1000 - That's a shame because I don't think Coppola was going it ONLY for the money. He was doing it so he could get out of "director jail" after a few flopped films.
BillyBatson1000
BillyBatson1000 - 9/11/2020, 7:35 AM
@Nightwing1015 - Yeah, particularly 'One From The Heart' - a massive financial bomb. Great filming concept, soundtrack, solid cast - but no interest at the box office, sadly.
Darkknight2149
Darkknight2149 - 9/10/2020, 2:26 AM
WB really missed the point of the Suicide Squad, didn't they? They are not supposed to be asshole superheroes that secretly have a heart of gold. They are straight up supervillain convicts who are blackmailed into working for the government.

Just like Green Lantern, leave it to WB to drain everything original and unique out of a premise.
dracula
dracula - 9/10/2020, 2:29 AM
@Darkknight2149 - If only the people behind the animated stuff did the live action stuff.

They already pulled on the Suicide Squad in 2 animated movies.

They even pulled it off in an episode of Justice League Unlimited, a "kids" show
RokoVII
RokoVII - 9/10/2020, 2:31 AM
I wish the idea of Ayer directing was killed off
dracula
dracula - 9/10/2020, 2:38 AM
@RokoVII - end of watch was good, maybe he should just stick to crime stories
aresww3
aresww3 - 9/10/2020, 4:37 AM
@dracula - the guys a good director. Training Day is an absolute classic.
Bokis
Bokis - 9/10/2020, 5:43 AM
@dracula - End of Watch is great! I also really liked Fury
soberchimera
soberchimera - 9/10/2020, 6:40 AM
@aresww3 - He didn't direct Training Day...
dracula
dracula - 9/10/2020, 10:32 AM
@aresww3 - he actually only write training day
aresww3
aresww3 - 9/10/2020, 3:30 PM
@soberchimera - he wrote it right? that's pretty impressive. By the way, why hasn't that guy directed a superhero movie? Training day was [frick]ing awesome.
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