‘Suicide Squad’ director David Ayer defends James Gunn following Superman backlash
David Ayer has leapt to the defence of Superman director James Gunn – and upheld his own support of the Guardians of the Galaxy helmer – after controversy was stoked by the DC blockbuster’s first teaser trailer.
For the last few years, Ayer has been associated with a campaign to release the director’s cut of his 2016 blockbuster Suicide Squad to a dedicated core of fans of the films released during Zack Snyder’s tenure as the primary creative force of the DC Extended Universe. Known as the “Ayer cut”, this version is supposedly markedly different from the one savaged by critics upon its release in cinemas.
However, before the scheduled release of the first teaser for Superman, the first cinematic salvo in Gunn’s new incarnation of the DC Universe on film, Ayer took to social media to plead with his fans. He didn’t want any online Ayer cut campaigns to draw attention away from Superman, as he believed they may have done with the December 5th Max release of Creature Commandos, an animated series also created by Gunn.
Ayer wrote: “I didn’t realise James was dropping Creature Commandos when the last Ayer cut campaign hit. The new Superman trailer is dropping soon, and I know there’s intentions of another campaign for my version of Skwad.”
He added, “As a filmmaker, I want to support other filmmakers. I’m excited to see the trailer, and have heard through the rumour mill it’s pretty incredible.”
On December 18th, though, Ayer returned to Twitter to address the backlash his statement had engendered from the hardcore section of the DC fanbase that doesn’t want the new film universe to succeed. He lamented, “My Lord. If supporting another filmmaker is so contentious, I’m just lost at this point. When I was a kid I had a nightmare childhood. My best friends were comic books. They held me and gave me company when no one else did. Batman spoke to my injured soul. Superman’s optimism was an example of how to see the world without darkness.”
The End of Watch director continued: “I cannot fucking wait to see James’ trailer. Real talk. And I cannot wait to see his film. And absolutely am sure he crushed it. Because that simple optimism of Superman is all over it. And the little kid in me needs that right now. I’m a bad guy for that? So be it.”
The negativity swirling around the situation seemed to genuinely upset Ayer because he concluded his message, “Gonna step back from all this for a moment.” It was unclear if he simply meant removing himself from social media for a period or from the entertainment business as a whole.
Has Ayer addressed Gunn’s new DC Universe before?
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Ayer has mentioned Gunn and his new DC Universe while speaking of his efforts to show the world his original Suicide Squad vision.
In August, he posted to social media, “All I know is my unseen film plays much better than the studio release. The interest in my cut being [shown] seems real and organic. And Gunn told me it would have its time to be shared. He absolutely deserves to launch his DC Universe without more drama about old projects. In a way, I’m chained to this thing. I’m riding a tiger here and navigating this situation the best I can. Life is a very strange journey.”
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.