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'Suicide Squad' fans want David Ayer cut now after #ReleaseTheSnyderCut success

Jared Leto as The Joker in 'Suicide Squad'. (Credit: Warner Bros/DC)
Jared Leto as The Joker in 'Suicide Squad'. (Credit: Warner Bros/DC)

One fan campaign has born fruit this week, with the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League heading to HBO Max next year, and now another has sprung up around David Ayer’s 2016 movie Suicide Squad.

In the wake of the Snyder Cut news, Ayer posted an image on Twitter of the Joker, as played by Jared Leto in his film.

The picture of Leto bore the caption “I am different, f*** your opinion”.

Read more: Ayer agrees with Harley Quinn criticism

Cottoning on to the sentiment of Ayer’s post, fans flocked to reply and some began tweeting the hashtag #ReleaseTheAyerCut.

Ayer hinted in November that the released version of Suicide Squad, which was savaged by critics, did not reflect his original vision for the movie.

David Ayer speaks onstage at Netflix's "Bright" and "Death Note" panel during Comic-Con International 2017. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
David Ayer speaks onstage at Netflix's "Bright" and "Death Note" panel during Comic-Con International 2017. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

“Movies are fragile. They are like dreams, haunting moments that run from your vision. They have their own logic and truth,” he wrote.

“If you change the destination after the trip is complete is it still the same journey?”

Read more: Ayer reacts to James Gunn’s cast for The Suicide Squad

In a Twitter post in 2017, Ayer wrote that “there isn’t a secret edit of the film with a bunch of Joker scenes hidden in a salt mine somewhere”.

Earlier this month, though, the director expressed his regret that fans weren’t able to see more of Leto’s take on the Clown Prince of Crime.

He said: “My heart breaks for Jared — he did magnificent work. Most of it remains unseen.”

'Suicide Squad' was a box office hit, but a critical disappointment, in 2016. (Credit: DC/Warner Bros)
'Suicide Squad' was a box office hit, but a critical disappointment, in 2016. (Credit: DC/Warner Bros)

DC fans have shown themselves to be passionate and persistent campaigners, with the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement remaining prominent on social media ever since it was first suggested that there was an incomplete version of the film out there.

Snyder was replaced as director by Joss Whedon and fans claim that it was the Avengers filmmaker who was responsible for diminishing the film’s quality.

Read more: What was Zack Snyder’s original vision?

It remains to be seen whether the #ReleaseTheAyerCut campaign will catch fire in the way its DC bedfellow did, or even if the so-called “Ayer Cut” exists in any form.

Meanwhile, James Gunn’s rebooted take on The Suicide Squad is due for release in August 2021.