David Ayer shared concept art featuring a naked Jared Leto as Joker in his 2016 film Suicide Squad. A renewed spotlight has shone on the maligned 2016 movie as the DCEU continues to chart a path forward in a post-Justice League world. James Gunn's upcoming sequel-reboot hybrid to the original 2016 film is set for release this summer and although it will feature the return of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag, one face in particular won't be making a return.
Leto's Joker isn't in The Suicide Squad, but he did make one final stand in Zack Snyder's Justice League. Snyder brought him back for one scene set in the Knightmare future that would've been explored in his Justice League sequels, but Leto's future as Joker remains up in the air. His take on the Clown Prince of Crime remains divisive thanks in part to the edit the character gets in the 2016 version of Suicide Squad, but there have been hints that an Ayer Cut could expand on the character in a way that puts him in a new light.
That new light could involve a scene that wasn't in the original Suicide Squad, with Ayer sharing a photo of Joker naked and surrounded by his weapons. The room Joker is in was shown in the original version of the film, but Joker was clothed in that scene. This could either be a different scene or an early version of that same scene, but Ayer didn't provide any context for the image.
Ayer posting the picture is a sly way of nodding to the Ayer Cut without explicitly stating so. The Snyder Cut certainly ignited hopes that Ayer could finish his version of the 2016 film and although WB has come out and said that they won't be funding such a project, that hasn't stopped fans from advocating for it. In fact, the Ayer Cut became a trending topic after the Snyder Cut's release alongside #RestoreTheSnyderVerse, another movement that has risen in the wake of the HBO Max release of Snyder's four hour opus.
It's unclear whether or not an Ayer Cut could save Leto's Joker. Ayer has hinted at a much darker film underneath the cut that was released and continues to hold out hope that the Ayer Cut could become a reality. For Joker, though, it might not matter. Leto is a big star and he could make future appearances in DCEU properties either as a small cameo or in a bigger role that could benefit both him and the franchise. Whether or not an Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad could help that may be besides the point.
Source: David Ayer
