With The Suicide Squad having been quite a success for Warner Bros this year, it’s interesting to look back on its predecessor – David Ayer’s 2016 film Suicide Squad. The movie was heavily changed by the studio during production, and as a result the finished film was rather negatively received. In fact, even director David Ayer has expressed his disappointment with the finished product. He’s also emphasized his desire to have his original vision for the film restored. And while we’re unlikely to get David Ayer’s cut of Suicide Squad, that hasn’t stopped Ayer from sharing concept art and other behind the scenes glimpses from the film’s production. This now includes the original costume designed for Harley Quinn; and, as it turns out, it was rather revealing.
The concept art does retain a lot of the same colors that are present on Harley Quinn’s final outfit. However, the original Harley Quinn costume is still quite different. In particular, the center of the Suicide Squad costume reveals Harley Quinn’s cleavage. While the final costume was still quite sexualized, albeit differently, it’s still surprising to see what almost could’ve been on screen. Another major difference is the makeup around Harley Quinn’s eyes, which is extremely red and takes up a good portion of her face.
As you can see below via David Ayer’s Twitter account:
Concepts pic.twitter.com/iJyZKoWJxn
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) November 9, 2021
This costume was actually tested:
This look actually did make it into your cut, however brief, no?#ReleaseTheAyerCut pic.twitter.com/QRVuF9wqbL
— 🃏Mark Fisher🦔 – #ReleaseTheAyerCut (@cyber10mark) November 9, 2021
storyboards (and Ayer himself) suggest otherwise
the multiple mugshots certainly fit his version of the movie depicting Joker & Harley as abusive; shows how he constantly lets her take the fall pic.twitter.com/rg8Jz7gwVH
— 🃏Mark Fisher🦔 – #ReleaseTheAyerCut (@cyber10mark) November 15, 2021
Of course, it’s also clear that the same aesthetic was intended for both costumes. There’s a very particular style about David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, something darkly glamorous that made its way into most of the character designs. While a lot of this style was dropped for James Gunn’s follow-up The Suicide Squad, David Ayer’s impact on the DCEU is still felt to this day. Especially with the inclusion of Harley Quinn, who has been masterfully played by Margot Robbie in all of her live-action appearances throughout the DCEU.
While we may never see David Ayer’s cut of Suicide Squad, it’s interesting to see the steps taken which gave us the final film.