Suicide Squad Director Reveals Original Cut Was Never Shown To Test Audiences: "Madness Ensued"

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David Ayer, Director of 2016"s Suicide Squad, has revealed that the original cut of the DCEU movie was never even screened to test audiences. Suicide Squad remains one of the lowest-rated movies in the DCEU alongside Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the theatrical cut of Justice League. Criticisms are mostly leveled at its pacing, editing, and a script filled with shoehorned jokes that jarred with darker moments. Many believe that a troubled post-production was largely to blame for the negative reaction, though it seems the full story is more complicated.
David Ayer recently took to X to clarify in response to whether last-minute edits occurred due to poor test screenings, revealing that his original, more dramatic cut was never even test-screened before edits were made and "madness ensued." His revelation has sparked new calls for the "Ayer cut," evoking a similar clamor for the Snyder cut of 2017"s Justice League. Ayer also stated in 2020 that his cut would be "easy to release" and it would be "cathartic" for him if it did. His full comments about the test screening can be seen below:
What David Ayer's Latest Suicide Squad Comments Mean Ayer's Previous Comments Lend Credence To This Revelation Close Ayer"s comments draw a line beneath any belief that the post-production woes of Suicide Squad emerged out of a poor reaction to his original product. Ayer has also revealed on the Real Ones with Jon Bernthal podcast in 2023 that Batman v Superman was never test-screened, going on to state that the unexpected negativity it received influenced studio interference in Suicide Squad, pivoting entirely from the "dark, soulful" tone as a knee-jerk response. This tracks with the notion that his cut was never given a chance as the studio attempted to mitigate damage to the franchise.