David Ayer

When Christopher Nolan first revealed Heath Ledger’s Joker for The Dark Knight, fans were pretty annoyed with the drastic departure from the classic depictions of the character. Reactions to Jared Leto’s version of the character from Suicide Squad were twice as intense thanks to that gold grill and his collection of questionable tattoos, which mostly left fans feeling baffled. If you’re curious about what on earth inspired David Ayer’s new Joker, the director has offered some insight into his influences — most of which you can find on Instagram.

Warner Bros. execs made it pretty clear that Suicide Squad wasn’t aiming for an R-rating, though if any of their upcoming DC movies would be rated R, it’s the one that makes the most sense. Still, despite the success of Deadpool, WB has decided that Suicide Squad should be for everyone — well, everyone age 13 and up, and also probably a few clever kids who convince their parents that David Ayer’s rowdy comic book movie is an imperative exploration of complex morals in government relations, or something.

We know plenty about the bad guys in Suicide Squad, which features a whole roster of DC villains coming together to form a super-team to take down someone — or something — even worse than they are. But who could that be? As of now, we still have no idea, which feels pretty good considering it’s the kind of information that would’ve been leaked by now were this any other superhero movie.

Warner Bros. is planning on screening Suicide Squad at the MCM Comic-Con in London late next week, so it was a bit surprising to see some very early reactions to the film pop up on Twitter over the last couple of days. Several fans have been sharing their thoughts on David Ayer’s anti-superhero team-up following a test screening in California on Thursday night — and the reactions are quite positive.

It’s been a while since we had an update on Bright, so you’d be excused for forgetting all about it — except it’s sort of impossible to forget that David Ayer is directing a movie for Netflix starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton as a pair of mismatched buddy cops. Oh, and one of them is an orc, apparently. It’s also hard to forget how the internet’s collective jaw dropped when Netflix plopped down $90 million for the film, and it looks like some of that money might go to Noomi Rapace, as the actress is in talks to join the strange new project.

Not only did Harley Quinn become an instant fan favorite following her debut on Batman: The Animated Series, but she quickly became an iconic villain, and it wasn’t long before she transitioned to the pages of DC Comics. While most fans agree that Margot Robbie is the perfect choice for the role in Suicide Squad, there’s been much less agreement over her wardrobe — or lack thereof — in David Ayer’s upcoming film. Robbie herself has officially chimed in, offering her thoughts on Harley’s controversial fashion choices.

Reshoots or no, the latest trailer for Suicide Squad debuted tonight during the 2016 MTV Movie Awards, offering a new sneak peek at David Ayer’s gritty super villain team-up. Packed with action, the trailer offered some new footage of DC’s Worst Heroes Ever, including Batman, The Joker and another classic 70s rock song...

Not long after the negative reviews and underwhelming box office returns for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice began rolling in, so did some interesting reports from Warner Bros. One of those reports suggested that David Ayer is doing some reshoots on Suicide Squad to make the film more humorous — a direct response to criticisms of Zack Snyder’s bleak superhero epic. According to Jai Courtney, who plays Captain Boomerang in the upcoming anti-hero team-up, that’s not accurate…but it’s also what you might expect him to say.

While most fans can agree that Suicide Squad looks like a fairly entertaining antidote to the usual blockbuster superhero fare, at least one part of David Ayer’s super-villain team-up remains divisive. You already know which part that is: Jared Leto’s tattooed, chrome-grilled Hot Topic take on Batman’s arch-nemesis The Joker, aka the Clown Prince of Crime. However you feel about Leto’s Joker aesthetic, it’s certainly different from and incomparable to any previous iteration of the character — though Leto does have a couple of wacky comparisons in mind.

Earlier this month, news broke that Netflix was negotiating exclusive rights to Bright, a new fantasy action thriller that will reunite director David Ayer with Suicide Squad star Will Smith. The new film from American Ultra screenwriter Max Landis is Netflix’s biggest deal so far, nabbing a $90 million budget that could have some interesting implications for the streaming giant, particularly since most theater chains won’t screen films that don’t honor the typical 90-day window between theatrical and home / streaming release.