Release the Ayer Cut: DC Fans Demand David Ayer's Suicide Squad Director's Cut

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DC fans more than ever want Warner Bros. to #ReleaseTheAyerCut of Suicide Squad after writer-director David Ayer published an open letter Thursday saying the studio cut of the 2016 blockbuster is "not my movie." Only a "handful of people" have seen the unreleased version of Suicide Squad, Ayer says in the letter titled "My Turn," where the filmmaker shows support for both Warner Bros. and the James Gunn written and directed not-a-sequel The Suicide Squad. The lengthy statement comes in response to a critic who tweeted Ayer should "abandon the idea" of the Suicide Squad director's cut that Ayer confirmed does exist ahead of the release of Zack Snyder's four-hour Justice League Snyder Cut.

"I put my life into Suicide Squad," the Training Day filmmaker wrote in a personal open letter published Thursday. "I made something amazing - My cut is [an] intricate and emotional journey with some 'bad people' who are shit on and discarded (a theme that resonates in my soul). The studio cut is not my movie. Read that again. And my cut is not the 10 week director's cut -- it's a fully mature edit by Lee Smith standing on the incredible work by John Gilroy. It's all Steven Price's brilliant score, with not a single radio song in the whole thing."

The Ayer Cut "has traditional character arcs, amazing performances, a solid third-act resolution. A handful of people have seen it. If someone says they have seen it, they haven't."

Ayer continued: "I've never told my side of the story and I never will ... I'm old school like that. So I kept my mouth shut and took the tsunami of sometimes shockingly personal criticism." Ayer went on to add he's "so proud" of Gunn, whose follow-up is neither a direct sequel nor a total reboot of Suicide Squad, concluding: "I support WB and am thrilled the franchise is getting the legs it needs ... I will no longer speak publicly on this matter."

In October, Ayer tweeted that his never-seen version of Suicide Squad "100%" matches the tone of the well-received first-look Warner Bros. debuted during San Diego Comic-Con in 2015. "It is f*cking amazing. On God," Ayer tweeted at the time. "I felt guilty for years like I f*cked [up]. Nope. It's fire."

Ayer claimed ownership of the version of Suicide Squad released into theaters while promoting the $175 million DC Comics adaptation in 2016 and 2017. Years later, amid repeat fan calls for WarnerMedia to follow suit with Zack Snyder's Justice League and debut the Ayer Cut on HBO Max, Ayer said in his October tweet he "took the hits like a good soldier when the studio cut hit the streets. It's who I am."

Just days after HBO Max premiered the long-fabled Snyder Cut of Justice League on the streamer, Ann Sarnoff, Chair and CEO of WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group, told Variety that the company "won't be developing David Ayer's cut [of Suicide Squad]." In response to the story, Ayer tweeted: "Why?"

Gunn previously tweeted he was in favor of Ayer and Warner Bros. releasing the Ayer Cut despite the upcoming release of The Suicide Squad, which will play in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6. In March, Ayer again expressed his hopes to #ReleaseTheAyerCut -- but after the release of Gunn's film, tweeting it would be "horrific brand management" to release his director's cut close to the release of Gunn's franchise-reinventing The Suicide Squad.

Fans are again taking to social media to mobilize behind the "Release the Ayer Cut" hashtag, inspired by the fan-driven "Release the Snyder Cut" movement that resulted in Snyder completing and releasing his original vision for Justice League. Supporters will rally virtually on August 5 -- the fifth anniversary of Suicide Squad -- to urge Warner Bros. to #ReleaseTheAyerCut.

#ReleaseTheAyerCut

David Ayer deserves to have his work seen the way he intended. What he doesn't deserve is constant jabs and personal insults from people who don't know him, hating on him for a movie that isn't his.

It's time to #ReleaseTheAyerCut https://t.co/Sa8qflFN8q

-- Walt (@Uber_Kryptonian) July 29, 2021

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Tone

Remember when people were cracking jokes about the Suicide Squad logo changing so much?

That was the most obvious sign of the studio interference but we didn't know yet. The first is from the Comic-Con trailer. You can see how the tone shifted. #ReleaseTheAyerCut pic.twitter.com/Al8Ttisg33

-- Walt (@Uber_Kryptonian) July 29, 2021

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David Ayer's Suicide Squad

"Suicide Squad and Justice League aren't exactly the same situations"

Ok and? Doesn't change the fact that the studio meddled with the director's vision and that similarity itself is enough. #ReleaseTheAyerCut pic.twitter.com/rSus6dT6P6

-- adi (@WubbaLubba_DD) July 29, 2021

'David Ayer's Suicide Squad'
That has a nice ring to it..#ReleaseTheAyerCut pic.twitter.com/xbrnQIukPH

-- Aaron S. Bailey ?? (@AaronBaileyArt) July 29, 2021

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Justice

Honestly, people don't really know how poorly Warner Bros. treated David Ayer.

They took his movie away, he took the criticisms for their final cut, and was removed from every other project he wanted to make. #ReleaseTheAyerCut

-- Ishaan Sangha (@IshaanSangha) July 29, 2021

People sh*tting on the Ayer cut should remember it's not about how good/bad the final movie is/isn't.

It's about justice for filmmakers whose voices are so often silenced.#ReleaseTheAyerCut pic.twitter.com/TpihnxNezy

-- Sam | HALO Era (@samgallant10) July 29, 2021

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Twitter Takeover

Love to see it #ReleaseTheAyerCut pic.twitter.com/DazdhaoTbq

-- STEusMOTus - Man of the people. (@steusmotus) July 29, 2021

Warner Bros said they have no plans to #ReleaseTheAyerCut just like they said they had no plans to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut
So lets repeat history now shall we ? ??

-- Geralt of SnyderVerse (@Itssan17) July 29, 2021

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August 5

On August 5th

We need

500,000 tweets minimum!

To #RestoreTheSnyderVerse we MUST #ReleaseTheAyerCut pic.twitter.com/R6skHQoT6S

-- Leonidas (@Signs2323) July 29, 2021

Daily reminder

August 5th- we ride to battle #ReleaseTheAyerCut pic.twitter.com/5kBuZ2U3BJ

-- Leonidas (@Signs2323) July 29, 2021

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