While audiences certainly seemed to enjoy this summer’s Suicide Squad, there were some critics who felt that the film’s tone wavered back and forth and that there were some choppy moments in the narrative. Further revelations of an extensive period of reshoots, a troubled post-production and the screening of two separate cuts – one overseen by director David Ayers, one not – gave evidence that there was much more film than what eventually appeared on the big screen.
Fans will now be getting to see some more of that footage as Warners has just announced that they will be relasing an extended cut of Suicide Squad on Digital HD November 15 and Blu-ray December 13. Here’s the trailer that the studio tweeted out just a short while ago –
#SuicideSquad Extended Cut. Spread the word. pic.twitter.com/lNPjUqieVt
— Suicide Squad (@SuicideSquadWB) October 5, 2016
It is unclear if this is actually Ayers’ cut or some strange amalgam of the two versions of the film that the studio had been testing. At the least, it should be interesting to see what material has been added back into the story and how it impacts the overall film. Even before Jared Leto mentioned it in interviews, there was much more material of his portrayal of the Joker that was shot that didn’t make it into the final cut and you can get quick glimpses of it in the released trailer.
In the wake of Warners releasing an Unlimited Cut of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, the news that they have an extended edit of Suicide Squad coming our way is not really much of a surprise. It also won’t be a surprise if some fans complain about a different edit being released and label it a cash grab. I prefer to look at alternate edits as great ways to see how editing decisions can ultimately impact a film. It was apparent in the marked improvement that can be found in the longer cut of Batman V Superman. I suspect that a longer cut of Suicide Squad could be highly revealing as well.
