David Ayer Shares Revealing And Unreleased Photo Of His ‘Suicide Squad’

There’s no denying that Jared Leto’s Joker simply didn’t cut it for many viewers, as evidenced by an immense amount of tweets on the subject. Yet, despite all the backlash and sub-par reception, director David Ayer has continuously explained how 2016’s “Suicide Squad” was intended to be an altogether different film.

Displayed in full force via an Instagram photo posted Sunday, Ayer’s alternative narrative would have been an inside look at the relationship shared between Joker and Harley Quinn. As Ayer reveals himself in his Instagram caption:

“Movies are fragile. They are like dreams, haunting moments that run from your vision. They have their own logic and truth. If you change the destination after the trip is complete is it still the same journey? The spine of Suicide Squad was Harley’s journey. In many ways it was her movie, her escaping her relationship with Joker was the major emotional through line. A director holds an invisible compass in their hands. It guides every shot, every performance. That compass points to the destination. If the destination changes did the journey even happen?”

Even Leto himself has alluded to a myriad of his Joker scenes being left to rot on the editing room floor. Now, three years following the release of “Suicide Squad,” it’s clear whatever the director had in store for his vision of the film remains weighing on his mind. Much of his cut was adapted and redacted with reshoots to fit DC and Warner Bros’ narrative, despite Ayer claiming otherwise. While it earned the studio a whopping $746.8 million, the end result was a critically-panned film that realistically left no mark on the DCEU whatsoever, other than a stain, according to some of the fandom.

With “Joker” set to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, in addition to an all-new “Suicide Squad” sequel being helmed by “Guardians of The Galaxy” director James Gunn and writer Gavin O’Connor, DC films have seemingly moved past Ayer’s Joker arc. Still, many fans wonder what could have been if Ayer’s true vision of “Suicide Squad” was allowed some breathing room.

In addition to a widely sought after Snyder cut of 2017’s “Justice League,” which was similarly poorly-received by fans and critics alike, comic book junkies wait in earnest for a potential “Suicide Squad” Ayer cut. The likelihood of either ever releasing, though, is extremely minuscule.