WB Shuts Down Suicide Squad Ayer Cut & Restoring The SnyderVerse

While the fandom might be riding high on a wave of vindication following this weekend’s debut of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Warner Bros. is reeling them back as a new interview with WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff has confirmed that the SnyderVerse not be restored into the mainline DC Extended Universe. (Via Variety)

While expressing her and the studio’s appreciation for the movement that drove them to greenlight the new cut of the superhero blockbuster — as well as condemning the toxic, death-threatening side of the fanbase as “completely unacceptable” and “very disappointing” — Sarnoff thanked Snyder for his “many contributions to DC,” but said that the film marks the “completion of his trilogy” and looking towards the exciting “plans we have for all the multi-dimensional DC characters that are being developed right now.”

In addition to confirming that the Snyder Cut was the end of the road for the filmmaker’s storyline, when asked whether the studio was considering other director’s cut of their superhero films, specifically that of David Ayer’s ensemble Suicide Squad, Sarnoff flatly responded with “we won’t be developing David Ayer’s cut.” With the Snyder Cut movement having also allotted traction to an Ayer Cut for the villain team-up film and the writer/director himself using social media to share tidbits of cut footage, concept art, script pages, etc, many were hopeful that the success of Justice would lead to that film’s restoration, but it was all to no avail.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League reportedly cost around $70 million in order to properly finish the editing and visual effects of the director’s original vision, as well as the additional photography. The original post-production crew also return along with the cast members to record additional dialogue for the cut.

With his faith in humanity restored following the sacrifice of Superman, Justice League centers on Bruce Wayne as he uses this emotional fuel to band together with Diana Prince to build a team of heroes — Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash — to prepare to stand together against the world-destroying threat of Steppenwolf and his maniacal master Darkseid.

The new cut of the film is based on a screenplay by Chris Terrio from an original story by Terrio, Snyder and Will Beall, and features as cast led by Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg and Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman. Also included in the ensemble roster is Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Jim Gordon, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf and Ray Porter as Darkseid.

Released in November 2017, the film earned mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike, praising the action and performances from Gadot and Miller while criticizing every other aspect of the film, namely the inconsistent tone that many fault Joss Whedon (The Avengers) for after taking over directorial duties from Snyder. With a large budget of $300 million and a break-even point of $750 million, the film is considered a box office bomb having grossed only $658 million.