Screen Rant breaks down the pitch meeting for David Ayer's Suicide Squad. 2016 was a big year for DC, and saw the release of both Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Suicide Squad. The former movie, in particular, was highly anticipated since it united two of the most iconic characters in pop culture for the first time on the big screen. The resulting movie met with a very mixed reception, however, attracting criticism for its humorless tone, convoluted story and Jesse Eisenberg's grating turn as Lex Luthor.
The response to the film put pressure on Suicide Squad, a film that united a bunch of DC villains, and also featured the big screen debut of Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie. The complaints leveled at Batman V Superman reportedly led to the studio reworking Suicide Squad prior to release, including recutting and reshooting scenes to add more humor. Again, the movie proved to be a hit, but reviews still took aim at the film's choppy tone and lame villains. Jared Leto's take on the Joker was another divisive element.
Related: Greg Sestero Would Play Batman To Tommy Wiseau's Joker
The latest entry in Screen Rant's Pitch Meeting series works through some of the biggest issues with Suicide Squad, starting with the flawed premise of the government wanting a team of superpowered villains, yet settling for a sharpshooter, a drunk Australian with a boomerang and a crazy lady with a baseball bat. Other issues include the unusually high number of helicopter crashes the main characters suffer, character development being limited to onscreen text and the Joker not being the main villain – a mistake even David Ayer has admitted to in hindsight.
Trailers and previews prior to release played up the involvement of Leto's Joker, making it appear he'd be an important part of the story. The final version of Suicide Squad didn't have much for the character to do; he appears in some of Harley Quinn's flashbacks and during a few scenes where he tries to rescue her from the squad, but if his scenes had been cut completely, the story would have unfolded the exact same way. The trailers also showed a high number of deleted scenes featuring the character, prompting Leto to joke about the number of scenes that had been cut during the promotional tour.
While neither Batman V Superman nor Suicide Squad were critical darlings, they both have their fans, and Ayer has been vocal about his gratitude to Warner Bros for the opportunity. That said, the director's next movie was the Netflix original blockbuster Bright, which allowed him much more creative freedom. Ayer is currently still attached to Gotham City Sirens, which would unite Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn.
This Suicide Squad spinoff was announced a while ago, however, and following the underwhelming response to Justice League, DC might be retooling their plans for forthcoming movies as they move forward.
More: David Ayer Grateful For Suicide Squad
Source: Screen Rant
