Suicide Squad will release Aug. 5 and Warner Bros. is banking on the David Ayer-directed team film to breathe in new life into the DC Comics Cinematic Universe that was nearly snuffed out by the lackluster Batman vs Superman.
However, new reports from The Hollywood Reporter have put a magnifying glass on the behind-the-scenes politics and micromanagement of the film.
According to an unnamed source within Warner Bros., the first problem was making the targeted August 2016 release date. Suicide Squad’s release date was announced in 2014 by Warner's chief Kevin Tsujihara as part of a slate of 10 DC films stretching into 2020.
Here’s an excerpt from the THR report.
“Though the studio believed there was enough time to get the movie done, a source with ties to the project says it was a sprint from the start. ‘[Ayer] wrote the script in like, six weeks, and they just went,’ he says, arguing that the whole process would have benefited if Ayer had been given more time to work.”
Another THR source said that once the date was announced it was impossible to push Suicide Squad back considering it was supposed to be a tentpole movie.
On top of that, the negative reviews and press for Batman vs Superman made Warners execs very antsy and anxious about Suicide Squad and they were concerned that Ayer’s version of the film was not going to match the fun and edgy tone from the first trailer.
The report goes on to say that Ayer’s original film was a lot darker and more serious so Warner Bros. went ahead and created a different cut of the film that made it lighter in tone.
Both versions were screened and tested with both Ayer and Warner Bros. agreeing to meet in the middle and that is the final cut that will be shown in theaters.
Whether this is all true is still unknown and only time will tell if Ayer or anyone else will come forward about the reported last-minute changes.
So what do you think of the reported behind-the-scenes meddling from WB on Suicide Squad? Let us know in the comments section below.
