Suicide Squad director David Ayer reveals that the success of the film Deadpool led to a shift in his original plans for the 2016 film, transforming it into a comedy.
David Ayer says the success of Deadpool changed his original version of Suicide Squad into a comedy. Warner Bros. and DC Films’ first anti-hero-centric film was released in 2016, the same year the Ryan Reynolds-led Fox/Marvel movie premiered, but several months earlier. Due to the overwhelmingly positive reception that the latter received, Ayer was compelled to make some adjustments to his Suicide Squad in order to make it more humorous.
Over the last couple of weeks, discussions about Ayer’s original version of the film have dominated online conversations. This follows the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League through HBO Max. While Ayer remained the director of Suicide Squad, it’s widely known that significant last-minute changes were made to the movie. This is evidenced by its reshoots, which reportedly cost $22 million, a significantly larger budget compared to the typical $6-10 million allocated for additional filming. The director has been forthcoming when asked about his cut’s details, and his latest revelation provides insight into what actually caused the alterations made to the movie.
Taking to his official Twitter account, Ayer shared why he was forced to make some changes to his original plan for Suicide Squad. Apparently, it stemmed from a combination of factors, including the divisive reception to Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and the success of Deadpool, both films released in the first quarter of 2016. The director concluded by stating that these changes caused his “soulful drama” to be transformed into a “comedy.” See his full tweet below:
David Ayer✔@DavidAyerMovies
This trailer nailed the tone and intention of the film I made. Methodical. Layered. Complex, beautiful and sad. After the BVS reviews shell shocked the leadership at the time, and the success of Deadpool – My soulful drama was beaten into a “comedy”
Fans were aware that the response to Batman V Superman had a ripple effect throughout subsequent DCEU films. It’s why Snyder had to rewrite his original script for Justice League, which was originally much darker, and why Ayer had to conduct some final reshoots for Suicide Squad that drastically altered its story. Ayer has shared more information about his cut of the movie over the years, but he has been doing so more actively recently. He hopes Warner Bros. will extend the same courtesy they gave Snyder to him by releasing his original version of Suicide Squad on HBO Max. Whether this comes to fruition remains to be seen, but between the support from James Gunn, who’s directing the sequel/soft reboot The Suicide Squad, and the fan demand, there is little reason why the studio should be against the idea.
Warner Bros.’ decision to move towards a more lighthearted approach on Suicide Squad, following the triumph of Deadpool, somewhat makes sense as both films focused on anti-heroes. Considering how profitable Deadpool was, earning a staggering $782 million against a $58 million budget, Warner Bros. believed they could replicate its formula for guaranteed profit. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and Ayer’s vision for a much darker Suicide Squad was compromised. While it remains unconfirmed if the director’s cut would constitute a better movie, the public cannot assess without its release.