David Ayer shares never-before-seen SUICIDE SQUAD concept art featuring the Joker and Enchantress

Director David Ayer he recently took to X to share previously unseen concept art for his 2016 DC film Suicide squad. The art offers alternate designs for the Joker and the Enchantress.

Joker concept art shows a tattoo-less version of Jared Leto’s Clown Prince of Crime, with purple smoke swirling around the character and a mountain of skulls. As you can imagine, someone criticized Ayer for sharing art, saying:

“See. I love it when famous producers and directors try to trace their awful mistakes with Oops, what I meant to do with Blank is And suddenly it’s a different thing which is so much better. We all know it wasn’t the original. You just did bullshit.

The director responded by saying that he was simply sharing concept art.

“It’s not that deep. The idea was that the Enchantress was altering the reality around her and changing the environment. Joker’s image is a simple interpretation of that concept.

He then shared the reality-altering Enchantress concept art. You gotta love the ridicule of fandom sometimes. It’s okay to just enjoy the things like these that artists and filmmakers share with us!

Ayer has been talking about his Suicide Squad Director’s Cut for years. As you know, the theatrical cut of the film was not the version of the film Ayer wanted to release, it was all Warner Bros. He has already explained that audiences and critical response to films like Batman v Superman and Deadpool are to blame for his vision of Suicide Squad changed.

Speaking about the film, Ayer said, “My cut would be easy to complete. That would be incredibly cathartic for me. It’s exhausting getting your ass kicked for a movie that got the Edward Scissorhands treatment. The film I made has never been seen.

It was explained that his version of the film had “a lot more Joker, including a big fight with him in the subway”. The beginning of the film is also said to “not have been edited like a music video, as all the flashbacks happened in chronological order”. One of the most notable aspects of his original cut was that there was “a very different and clear tone to the Joker and Harley’s relationship, which actually fits better with the opening of Birds of Prey.”

When it comes to Leto’s performance, one fan shared how Leto’s Joker was the biggest disappointment since Crystal Pepsi, to which Ayer replied: “This is what happens when you tear apart a performance and the character arc. I’m sorry that’s all you were allowed to see. Now your mind is closed to the truth. Leto’s Joker was said to be terrifying.

When previously speaking about the film and responding to another disgruntled fan, Ayer said James Gunn told him the film would have its time to be shared. He said:

“What’s your advice on how to deal with this situation gracefully? There’s a genuine curiosity and interest from a lot of people, and I’m aware there’s another group of people who enjoy making fun of the film. Your comment is a perfect example of how many are magnetically drawn [to] discussion to the 2016 film in a negative way. Have you ever had an experience in life that didn’t [turn out] as you wanted, that dragged you, that made you rethink everything? I have.”

“All I know is that my unedited film plays so much better than the studio release. The interest in my editing feels real and organic. And Gunn told me he would get his time to share. He absolutely deserves to launch to launch his DC universe with no more drama about old projects. I’m chained to this thing in a way. I’m riding a tiger here and navigating this situation the best I can. Life is a very strange journey.”

What do you think of all this stuff? Want to get more details on Ayer’s original vision for the film?