The third installment of the DC Extended Universe, Suicide Squad, can now be owned on Digital HD with a Blu-ray release set for mid-December. Like the first two films in the DCEU, Suicide Squad has been polarizing, with many fans and critics singing its praise and others just the opposite. Still, Warner Bros.' gamble on a film about lesser known villains (with the exception of Joker and Harley Quinn) paid off, as Task Force X ended its run in theaters with just over $745 million worldwide.
Suicide Squad elicited its share of complaints, many of which focused on Jared Leto's Joker. But while Leto's performance did rub some fans the wrong way, a consistent complaint was how ancillary he was to the plot of the film. Suicide Squad essentially did not need the Joker, as was evidenced by the shocking lack of screen time for the Clown Prince of Crime. Around the time of the movie's release, Leto made headlines when he revealed just how many Joker scenes were cut. So, when Suicide Squad's home media release was revealed to be including an extended cut, fans were hopeful that many of these scenes would be among the additions.
The cut turned out to only include 11 extra minutes of footage, not completely quenching fans' thirst for more Joker. Still, Suicide Squad's Extended Cut does include some Easter eggs for DC Comic fans, including a shot of the city that gave birth to the Joker. While not everyone pays such close attention to the screen, fortunately an astute Reddit user found some extra Batman-themed nods.
The Batman references can be found in a shot of the Gotham skyline immediately preceding a scene between Deadshot (played by Will Smith) and his daughter. The skyline features slight glimpses of the Gotham Chronicle building, the Gotham Telegraph building, and, perhaps most importantly, the Ace Chemicals building (which the Reddit user highlights in this image.)
The Ace Chemicals building is particularly relevant to Suicide Squad, as Joker pushes Dr. Harleen Quinzel (played by Margot Robbie) into the same vat of chemicals at the plant, cementing Quinzel's transformation into the now infamous Harley Quinn. While small Easter eggs like the Gotham skyline obviously do not add much to the film, they do help flesh out the shared universe that is the DCEU, and reward keen eyed fans.
Ultimately, Suicide Squad's extended cut will not change many fans' reactions to the film. If you liked the theater version, you will most likely appreciate the extended cut. If not, the extra 11 minutes - even with these Easter eggs - is likely not enough to change one's outlook. An interesting question now, after the release of Batman V Superman's improved Ultimate Edition and Suicide Squad's extended cut, is whether the DCEU will continue to feature extended cuts with subsequent releases. And, perhaps more importantly, is that what fans want?
Source: Reddit (h/t Comic Book)
