Joel Kinnaman Has Some Choice Words About Hypothetical Suicide Squad Director's Cut
The final cut of Suicide Squad that made it to screens in 2016 is a source of frustration for many fans of the DC Extended Universe. Much like with Zack Snyder and the theatrical cut of Justice League, some take issue with the way Warner Bros. reportedly altered the vision of writer-director David Ayer.
Whether or not we'll ever see an "Ayer Cut" of Suicide Squad is unknown. However, cast members have started speaking out on the subject of studio interference in the final cut of the film. On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Margot Robbie (the DCEU's Harley Quinn) was asked if she'd seen an "Ayer Cut" of Suicide Squad. "I never saw the Ayer Cut," she said. "I know we shot a lot of stuff that didn't make it into the movie. I would be very curious myself."
Robbie's Harley Quinn will be back for the upcoming quasi-sequel The Suicide Squad, but hers isn't the only familiar face we'll see. U.S. special operations forces specialist Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) is also set to return, and it turns out Kinnaman has some thoughts on the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad as well.
Kinnaman confirms what we didn't see in Suicide Squad
"You always wanna see the filmmaker's cut, you know?" Kinnaman admitted in an interview with The Playlist. "I'm sure [the Ayer Cut] would be much more interesting. David's take on the Joker was really interesting and that didn't really come out in the movie that we saw."
The question of what Jared Leto's performance as the Joker was actually like before the theatrical cut is a massive part of the Suicide Squad conversation. Ayer himself told Heroic Hollywood that Leto did "magnificent work" and that "most of it remains unseen." Fortunately for Leto, he'll reportedly get at least one more chance as the Joker when he appears in the Snyder Cut of Justice League.
Kinnaman notes that Warner Bros. have shifted their involvement considerably for The Suicide Squad director James Gunn. "With James Gunn, it's a whole new universe. It's a completely different thing," Kinnaman said. "I don't think [Gunn] had to compromise one iota of his vision. He really got to do exactly what he wanted."
Kinnaman went on to tease what we can expect from The Suicide Squad. "It's heavily R-rated and super silly," he said. "It's really childish, childish humor and it also finds these profound moments where you get really emotionally moved. And then it's super violent and then it's really silly again."
The Suicide Squad arrives in theaters and on HBO Max August 6, 2021.