David Ayer, the director of the original Suicide Squad, has once again teased that a director's cut of the 2016 film is in the works. In the wake of the whole Snyder Cut hype, fans have been clamoring for a "true" version of the embattled DC villain ensemble flick. 

A few days ago, the writer and filmmaker released a new image of one of the film's characters, Katana, to his social media platform. Ayer didn't say much but the image and its caption "Masks" was enough to set the internet agog and get fans talking.

Masks pic.twitter.com/82Cnq0bqc5

— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) August 13, 2023

When Suicide Squad arrived in 2016, many people thought it would give the flailing DCEU a much-needed shot in the arm. The film went on to gross $750 million at the box office against a $175 million budget. Suicide Squad's gross tells us that audiences loved the film. Unfortunately, critics felt different and gave the film overwhelmingly negative reviews.

In the intervening years since Suicide Squad's release, the director David Ayer has revealed the theatrical version we all saw was not his vision for the film. Apparently, the studio changed the tone and direction from what Ayer originally envisioned.

Why did Warner do this? The studio wasn't confident that Ayer's grim tone would drive audiences to theaters, especially since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which towed a similar line, had flopped at the box office and drew ire from both audiences and critics alike.

Instead, Warner decided to make the film in line with James Gunn's light-hearted and comedic Guardians of the Galaxy, which was a big hit at the time. To this end, the studio ordered extensive reshoots and edits of the film to change its tone and direction from Ayer's vision.

Over the years, DC fans who are curious to see Ayer's version of the movie have clamored for a director's cut. However, the studio has ignored these requests and carried on with its business as usual. In March, the Bright director gave fans a lifeline. He revealed he had met with James Gunn, the co-CEO of DC Studios.

He hinted that Gunn is not averse to the idea of a Suicide Squad director's cut release. Then, he explained that such a move would only be possible when Gunn finishes fleshing out his vision for DC Universe with his partner Peter Safran.

Earlier this month, Ayer reiterated the above statement. In response to a fan who seemed to disbelief talks of a director's cut, the Fury director said, "All I know is my unseen film plays much better than the studio release. The interest in my cut being show seems real and organic. And Gunn told me it would have its time to be shared."

If you are a fan of Ayer's Suicide Squad and would like to watch it again, you can stream it on Max.