Following the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom last month, the DCEU officially reached its conclusion. DC Studios' DCU reboot beckons but one of that franchise's first noteworthy critical flops - 2016's Suicide Squad - simply will not go away.
Despite not boasting a fanbase quite as passionate as those who demanded Warner Bros. #ReleaseTheSnyderCut of Justice League, there are plenty of people who would love to see the studio #ReleaseTheAyerCut. In recent months, we've seen filmmaker David Ayer lend his support to James Gunn's plans, suggesting on multiple occasions that his version of Suicide Squad will eventually see the light of day.
As you'll likely recall, Warner Bros. is believed to have butchered Ayer's vision for the movie after the negative response to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice left executives wondering whether the DCEU's darker tone was working (hence why Aquaman and Shazam! were both more in line with an MCU movie).
Something changed this month and Ayer finally threw in the towel on social media. Even so, he hasn't been able to escape questions about his ill-fated DC movie while doing the round to discuss The Beekeeper and has told Yahoo Movies about what the studio's interference meant for Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn.
"The ending. The whole third act was re-engineered," he started. "It was really Harley's movie and seeing her make the decision to choose healthy friendship and support over an unhealthy relationship, and make the decision to leave that relationship."
"To have that removed from the film really distorted her character and brought an immense amount of slings and arrows upon my head," Ayer added. "And no one has ever apologised for it."
He's likely referring to the fact that, in his cut of Suicide Squad, Harley was going to choose to leave The Joker behind for her Task Force X teammates (and a possible romance with Deadshot). The Clown Prince of Crime was cut from the final battle and instead broke Harley out of Belle Reve, resuming their abusive relationship.
Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey ended up closing the door on that romance, but it's easy to see why Ayer is frustrated.
Earlier this month, Gunn was asked whether Robbie's Harley has a future in the DCU. "I haven’t talked to Margot about Harley for a long time," the DC Studios co-CEO admitted. "But I’d love to work with her again as Harley or as someone else. There are no plans at this time for anyone else to play Harley (I mean, other than in Todd’s movie or the animated show/s.)"
Should Warner Bros. #ReleaseTheAyerCut of Suicide Squad or is it time to move on?