Suicide SquaddirectorDavid Ayeris speaking out about how the negative reactions to his 2016 superhero film affected him personally.
During Ayer’s recent appearance onJon Bernthal’sReal Onespodcast, the filmmaker, 55, namedSuicide Squadwhen Bernthal, 46, asked what he believes is the “biggest heartbreak” of his career.
The filmmaker, who worked with Bernthal on the 2014 World War II movieFury, said after that movie’s release he “had the town in my hand” as he prepared to write and directSuicide Squad, part of what DC Films — now DC Studios — initially planned as its DC Cinematic Universe. Ayer went on to say that the studio altered hisSuicide Squadsignificantly in response to how critics reacted to two other 2016 superhero movies:DeadpoolandBatman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Warner Bros. Pictures, which owns DC Studios and distributedSuicide Squad, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Suicide Squadproved 2016’s ninth highest-grossing movie at thedomestic box office, but it received dismal reviews from critics and audiences alike. Ayer told Bernthal that he believes he “became the bad guy narratively” as the studio responded to the movie’s poor reception.
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“It’s their movie,” he said, when Bernthal asked how the studio and the film’s producers could alter the project so drastically. “They never tested my cut. I have a copy of it. If I didn’t, oh my God, because everyone I’ve shown the cut has the same reaction. Rage. Like, ‘this is the movie we wanted, why didn’t we get this?’ “
Asked how he looks back onSuicide Squad, Ayer said: “I’m ambivalent, man. I have to own my life and I have to own my journey and my experiences…. That taught me I have to have control over my work. I have to have control over my work and I won’t get in a situation where I don’t have that control ever again, because they will strap a bomb to your back and bury you in a f—— crater.”
Ayer has been speaking out about his version ofSuicide Squadsince at least 2021, when he wrote an entire letter abouthow his film was different than the movie that released in theatersin response to a movie critic who suggested James Gunn’s 2021The Suicide Squadreimagining was significantly better.
source: people.com
