David Ayer has shared a previously unseen clip of Jared Leto’s Joker in Suicide Squad. The director posted a short moment of never-before-seen footage, which apparently comes from a scene that never made it into the movie at all.
In the clip, half of Joker’s face appears to be burnt (or at least covered in ash) and he’s sneering “you should be ashamed of yourself.” This scene was glimpsed in a trailer, but was missing from the final film. You can check out the video, which was posted to Ayer’s Instagram Story, below.
“You should be ashamed of yourself” #ReleaseTheAyerCut pic.twitter.com/vWqSVTBHicJanuary 16, 2021
Ayer has spoken before about his own version of Suicide Squad. “My cut would be easy to complete. It would be incredibly cathartic for me,” he once posted to Twitter. “It’s exhausting getting your ass kicked for a film that got the Edward Scissorhands treatment. The film I made has never been seen.” He’s also said his film was “ripped to pieces” and explained: “Major elements of my cut were ripped out before I could mature the edit. Then [Geoff] Johns wrote pages I had to reshoot.”
He’s also shared how Leto’s performance as the Joker was affected. Referring to a scene featuring Joker in Arkham Asylum, Ayer commented: “This was reshot because the tone was “too dark” - My first act was a normally constructed film. I took my inspiration from Nolan. There were real scenes with incredible acting between Jared and Margot [Robbie]. Joker was terrifying. Harley was complex.”
Leto is set to reprise his role of the Clown Prince of Crime in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which is set to release as one super-long film this March. There’s been no word on a release of the “Ayer Cut” of Suicide Squad, though there is a soft reboot/sequel releasing this summer directed by James Gunn, titled The Suicide Squad. A handful of the original cast will be back, including Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, but Leto’s Joker is nowhere to be seen.
The actor has made it known before that he finds it “hard to say no to [the Joker],” so there’s always a chance we might see him pop up in other DC films. Plus, considering the long-awaited Snyder Cut is finally getting released this year, the Ayer Cut doesn’t seem hugely outside the realm of possibility – though maybe not anytime in 2021, considering The Suicide Squad is arriving August 6. Until then, find out how to watch DC movies in order for the ultimate movie marathon.
