David Ayer expressed his opinion on Hollywood following the critical fallout of his 2016 DC movie Suicide Squad.
According to Variety, Ayer appeared on the latest episode of Jon Bernthal’s Real Ones podcast and explained how Hollywood broke him with the changes made to Suicide Squad, which he wrote and directed. “Hollywood — I tell people — is like watching someone you love get fucked by someone you hate,” the director said when asked about his biggest Hollywood heartbreak. “The big one is Suicide Squad. That sh*t broke me. That handed me my ass.”
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The filmmaker continued: “Come right off Fury, right? I had the town in my hand — could’ve done anything, and I did do anything. And [I] go on this journey with [Suicide Squad]. And the same thing — authentic, truthful, let’s do all the rehearsal, let’s really get in each other’s souls. Let’s create this amazing, collaborative thing, right? And then Deadpool opened, right? And they never tested Batman v. Superman, so they were expecting a different result, and then they got hammered by all the critics. Then it’s like, ‘Okay, we’re going to turn David Ayer’s dark, soulful movie into a f***ing comedy now.’”
Suicide Squad Was a Success Financially
Despite the film receiving negative reviews from critics, Suicide Squad made $747 million at the box office. It starred notable stars such as Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, and Jai Courtney. The movie’s box office success led to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey with Robbie in the titular role. It served as a spin-off to Suicide Squad with a cast that included Ewan McGregor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, and Ali Wong.
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In 2021, James Gunn directed The Suicide Squad, which is a standalone sequel to the original film. While the movie emerged as the most-watched DCEU film on Max: however, its performance at the box office fell short, generating slightly above $168 million against a $185 million budget. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film’s availability on Max, and its connection to the initial Suicide Squad installment were all significant factors that led to the box office bomb. Interestingly, in a recent tweet, Ayer suggested that Gunn could release his director’s cut of Suicide Squad, which he continues to claim is much better than the theatrical release.
Ayer has consistently expressed his dissatisfaction with the 2016 theatrical release of Suicide Squad and has stated that the studio altered notable and fundamental parts of his vision for the film. The Suicide Squad director also supported the social media campaign #ReleaseTheAyerCut which mirrored the movement that led to the successful Zack Snyder’s Justice League in 2020. Ayer also used social media to take a jab at Warner Bros.’s recent disappointing string of DC superhero movies. He advised the studio to let filmmakers have their vision rather than create a product based on the market perception.
Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad are both currently steaming on Max.
Source: Jon Bernthal’s Real Ones per Variety
