Suicide Squad editor Kevin Hickman broke down his thoughts on the David Ayer cut as well as the Jared Leto Joker scenes left on the cutting room floor.
Kevin Hickman has worked on dozens of films, including some genre favorites like Suicide Squad, Rogue One, Aquaman and Justice League. In a recent interview to discuss his previous works with CinemaBlend, Hickman touched upon numerous Suicide Squad-centric topics, including the David Ayer cut, as well as the many deleted scenes of Jared Leto as Joker.
After the critical success of the Snyder Cut, many have been petitioning to see a David Ayer cut as well. Suicide Squad was famously taken away from the director and re-edited to appeal to the crowd who made films like Deadpool a success. Ayer has been vocal about his cut and Hickman believes that it would be something special if given the light of day.
“I would like to see David’s final version of the film. I saw what David was trying to do with the film and I thought it was a pretty bold film. It was less comedy. It was a much darker film. It was almost like a Black Hawk Down type thing. It was just very militarized, very serious. I mean, of course there were supposed to be comedic moments with Will Smith, but it was a darker film. I like where David was going with it and it would be really nice to see him be able to finish what he started. I don’t know if that will happen now because of James Gunn’s reboot, which I haven’t seen yet, but from the trailer it looks like a lot of fun. It definitely feels like a different vibe than what David Ayer would have made, but I am really looking forward to seeing what James Gunn did because I’m a big fan of his work.”
The Suicide Squad editor also touched upon the much-talked-about deleted Jared Leto Joker scenes. Hickman specifically discussed the types of scenes that were cut and how he wished Leto got more time in the film.
“Jared Leto, I thought, did a really good job of playing the Joker. I know there’s a lot of opinions on the matter, but I really liked what he did. He really brought a psychotic character to life and because of the running time and because Jared provided so much material we were not able to use a lot of it. And for a lot of the material, we just couldn’t find a purpose for it because sometimes he would just go off on such crazy, insane tangents and it would be really hard to weave it into the film. Sometimes it just wasn’t appropriate for what he was doing but, it would have been nice to have more of that Joker character a little bit more fleshed out then what came out in the movie.”
What do you think about the Suicide Squad editor’s comments? Do you want to see the David Ayer cut? Or how about a solo Joker film starring Jared Leto? Comment below and let us know!
You can check out the synopsis for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad below:
Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission, with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.
Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad stars David Dastmalchian, John Cena, Jai Courtney, Joaquín Cosío, Nathan Fillion, Joel Kinnaman, Mayling Ng, Flula Borg, Sean Gunn, Juan Diego Botto, Storm Reid, Pete Davidson, Taika Waititi, Alice Braga, Steve Agee, Tinashe Kajese, Daniela Melchior, Peter Capaldi, Julio Ruiz, Jennifer Holland, Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, and Michael Rooker.
The Suicide Squad is currently scheduled to hit theaters and HBO Max on August 6, 2021. Stay tuned for all the latest news regarding the DC Extended Universe, and subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: CinemaBlend
