David Ayer claims Suicide Squad was 'beaten into a comedy' by movie bosses

David Ayer claims his cut of Suicide Squad was "beaten into a comedy" by bosses at Warner Bros.

The 52-year-old helmed the DC Comics adaptation, starring Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Will Smith and Viola Davis, which was mauled by critics upon its release back in August 2016.

It was announced earlier this month that the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League would be released on streaming service HBO Max next year, and the news prompted Ayer to call for his version of Suicide Squad to be released by Warner Bros.

He explained to fans that he had created a "soulful drama" that was ripped apart by movie bosses who decided at the last minute that the film should be a comedy, following the success of Deadpool in February that year.

"This trailer nailed the tone and intention of the film I made. Methodical. Layered. Complex, beautiful and sad," Ayer wrote, alongside a clip of the original trailer that was released at Comic-Con in 2016.

He went on to state that Warner Bros. officials were "shell shocked" by the poor performance of Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in March 2016, five months before Suicide Squad's release, so decided that his movie needed to have a comedic injection.

"After the BVS reviews shell shocked the leadership at the time, and the success of Deadpool - My soulful drama was beaten into a 'comedy'," he added.

Ayer later revealed to his followers that he took inspiration from Christopher Nolan, who helmed the Batman trilogy, but scenes featuring the Joker, played by Leto, and his on-off girlfriend Harley Quinn, portrayed by Robbie, were reshot because they were deemed "too dark".

"There were real scenes with incredible acting between Jared and Margot. Joker was terrifying. Harley was complex," Ayer explained. "Jared was pretty mistreated during this. No one has seen his performance. It was ripped out of the movie."