John Cena says he doesn’t see why fans shouldn’t get a chance to see the infamous “Ayer Cut” of the Suicide Squad film.
John Cena spoke with Variety at the red carpet premiere for The Suicide Squad and was asked about the film that preceded it, and if he’d like to see it released in its intended form. Released in 2016, the David Ayer-directed Suicide Squad said film was met with a mixed reception, and the director himself the film fans saw in theatres was not his work.
The #ReleaseTheAyerCut movement gained traction after Zack Snyder’s Justice League was born from a social media campaign (#ReleaseTheSnyderCut) to release the director’s original cut for that film. Now, Cena (who was not in the first Suicide Squad film) said that he believes fan feedback is important, and if the content is there, he doesn’t see why it shouldn’t be shared with the audience.
“I think it’s in a company’s best interest to listen to their audience,” Cena said, “and if it’s something that’s so in demand and they’ve got it, why not?”
Cena went on to talk about how good The Suicide Squad director James Gunn is at listening to his audience and the success that comes from it, noting that he’s happy to be part of the new film for that reason.
“I really think them giving James [Gunn] creative freedom, and one of the things James does so well, among all the other stuff, is he’s so active with his audience. He really is interactive with the people that are die-hards of the IP and know the material,” he noted, “so if you want to talk about people that knows their audience, they picked the right guy for this project in James Gunn. I’m really happy to be a part of it.”
Despite calls for the Ayer Cut of the film, WarnerMedia has no current plans to develop David Ayer’s cut of his film. The Suicide Squad with John Cena will be in theatres and on HBOMax on August 6.
