Suicide Squad Redeemed In Director's Extended Cut!

It hasn't been more than a few days since Suicide Squad premiered in theaters and fans are already on the edge of their computer chairs, writing heinous reviews on how the film failed to deliver in all aspects of cinema. While general fans would agree alongside die-hard fans of the comics on the matter of Suicide Squad failing to provide a loyal depiction of everyone's favorite team of super villains, Suicide Squad was still a good movie. Now I can't say the film was great but it was definitely good. That being said, the notion of Suicide Squad being better could've been a problem resolved during production, before the problem even came to be. As to why the film would've performed better overall had it been edited appropriately during pre-production has to stem around the original cut being altered. The original cut of Suicide Squad was shown to a select few target audiences who deemed the film too dark and grim in tone but their opinion on the film wound up making a difference in the final product; the result ended in the film undergoing re-shoots less than a few months prior to the premiere.

Despite David Ayer brushing off the implications of reshoots only being done in order to alter the film's tone, it appears the reshoots did alter the content of the film quite a bit. For one, we know that a massive amount of scenes were cut from the film. That in itself tells us that Suicide Squad was meant to progress in a particular direction but creative differences between David Ayer's vision and Warner Bros. Pictures' concepts resulted in a significant portion of the film being edited and the direction of the film changing tone. Regardless of David Ayer admitting to it or not, he allowed his Director's Cut of Suicide Squad to be edited down to the theatrical cut available now. Had he allowed his entire cut of the film to be released, fans would probably be saying something different about his film. However, even the release of a Director's Cut of the film might not convince fans into believing David Ayer knew what he was doing when he filmed Suicide Squad.

Was David Ayer's original cut of Suicide Squad ruined by reshoots?

David Ayer's vision for Suicide Squad was likely in the range of an R-rated film but with a target audience of PG-13, the original cut was probably shown to a test group within a specific age range who wouldn't know how to receive the film correctly. That in itself may have been the cause for re-shoots of the film, as well as the reason behind the theatrical cut being so harshly critiqued. Of course, it may just have been a bad test audience; going back to the acceptable sound tests for Christian Bale's voice as Batman in the Christopher Nolan Batman-trilogy being agreed on with a 90% acceptability rating, and we all know how that turned out. Going back to Suicide Squad.

Had the original construct of the film been intended for an R-rated audience then the director's cut of Suicide Squad might have made it past the screeners and into theaters without being altered. But that's neither here nor there. For now, we can begin to discuss the possibility of David Ayer's original cut of Suicide Squad making its debut at a later time.

With the current theatrical version of Suicide Squad receiving so much from flack from fans and critics alike, there'll probably be a call made between Warner Bros. Pictures and David Ayer on how to move past all the hullabaloo. To move past all the harsh criticism the film is facing now, David Ayer is going to have to convince Warner Bros. Pictures into releasing his original cut of Suicide Squad despite his cut being more fitting to an R-rated audience rather than a PG-13 demographic. Unless director David Ayer is given the go ahead on releasing his director's cut of the film, fan outcry is going to continue and the result will likely leave the future of the DC'EU in jeopardy.

The DC'EU is in jeopardy now...

The DC'EU hasn't been all that successful in the past, especially with the mass criticisms of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. And accounting for Suicide Squad not meeting fan expectations either, the future of the DC'EU may be in jeopardy - possibly to the point of plans for an extended universe of films being cancelled altogether. But to remedy that unfortunate inevitability, all Warner Bros. Pictures has to do is let David Ayer release his director's cut of Suicide Squad and the support from fans on Ayer's behalf will be enough to convince everyone invested in the growth of the DC'EU including Warner Bros. Pictures, that their prolonged interest in DC' properties will pay off in the end.

In terms of David Ayer's first cut of Suicide Squad, we don't know what the original cut would have looked like but if all the scenes that were cut from the film are any indication of the massive difference in final products, David Ayer's vision for the original cut of Suicide Squad likely differed substantially to what we were shown on-screen.

Would the premiere of David Ayer's Director's Cut for Suicide Squad change public opinion?

David Ayer's cut of Suicide Squad would likely have delighted fans despite its dark tone. Warner Bros. Pictures shouldn't have meddled in the creative process, robbing fans of a loyal adaptation of the Suicide Squad. Maybe Warner Bros. Pictures has been wrong in their presumptions of how to move forward with their DC' Comics properties. The original reason behind Suicide Squad undergoing reshoots and being edited was because the film was deemed too dark in tone by tests audiences. The underlying evidence to back up that assumption made by Warner Bros. Pictures was believing a film built on too dark of a tone wouldn't resonate with audiences. However, Warner Bros. Pictures may have failed to realize that a film like Suicide Squad should carry with it a dark tone whereas a Batman / Superman film should be more lighthearted and family friendly. And it is there that the studio is failing to bring DC' Comics properties to life in a manner which fans are happy with. But as previously mentioned, there is an easy solution to remedy the issue of Warner Bros. Pictures ruining the final cut of Suicide Squad, have David Ayer release his original cut of the film.

Of course, Warner Bros. Pictures wouldn't be too pleased with the notion of having to release an R-rated superhero film but if the release of David Ayer's R-rated cut of Suicide Squad is the only thing capable of redeeming the studio's failure in producing worthwhile superhero films then Warner Bros. will probably be singing a different tune when David Ayer's original cut of Suicide Squad is the only thing that saves the DC'EU.

Sidenote: Just a little tidbit on Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The theatrical cut was highly criticized by many fans but for fans who've seen the Ultimate Edition of the film, they've changed their overall opinion after seeing the Ultimate Edition of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Could the Director's cut of Suicide Squad lead to the same conclusion? Or will David Ayer release his Director's Cut once the flack on the theatrical cut of Suicide Squad reaches its peak? We'll just have to wait and find out.