Suicide Squad Director Confirms Theory That Joker Tried Replacing Harley
Suicide Squad director David Ayer confirms a fan theory about the Joker (Jared Leto) replacing Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). Ayer's Suicide Squad was released in theaters in 2016, and despite the enthusiastic pre-release buzz, it failed to impress fans and critics. Over the years, it has become increasingly apparent that Ayer's original plans for the film were altered in reshoots by Warner Bros., who sought to emulate the success of other recent superhero films like Deadpool. Ayer has begun sharing the things that were changed by the studio, from Suicide Squad's opening sequence to the arcs of various characters.
One character to be especially affected by Warner Bros.' changes is Leto's Joker. In the lead-up to Suicide Squad's release, the Joker arguably received the most attention due to his prominence in the marketing, as well as reports of Leto's intense method acting. However, a good number of his scenes were removed from the film's final cut, leaving a muddled arc that fans largely wrote off. Now, many have begun to wonder if Ayer's original Suicide Squad would have offered the Joker a far better story.
Ayer has taken to social media to seemingly confirm a fan theory about the Joker. Said theory looks at unnamed women in red who appear in the background of some of the Joker's scenes and suggests that they were intended to be Harley replacements. Ayer responded to this by simply saying, "It's not wrong," indicating the women were stand-ins for Harley during her imprisonment in Belle Reve.
Harley and the Joker's relationship is a particular point of interest between the Suicide Squad theatrical cut and Ayer's original vision. Ayer has previously said Harley's arc in the film was "eviscerated," and it's clear his original script would have seen Harley leave the Joker at the end of the film. However, the theatrical Suicide Squad has the Joker break Harley out of Belle Reve so they can run away together; it isn't until this year's Birds of Prey that Harley manages to get away from him.
With every new piece of information Ayer reveals about his Suicide Squad, fans get more excited about the possibility of an Ayer Cut release. Thanks to the upcoming debut of Zack Snyder's Justice League, there's been renewed hope that Ayer's original Suicide Squad could see a similar release. For his part, Ayer has suggested fans directly campaign to Warner Bros. and HBO Max in order to get it released. Nothing has been confirmed just yet, so it remains to be seen if Ayer's Suicide Squad will ever see the light of day.
Source: David Ayer/Twitter