A lot of bad edits, behind-the-scenes antics, and other questionable decisions turned DC’s Suicide Squad from a cool antihero saga into a weird, confusing mess. Jared Leto’s Joker took the biggest hit – making the much-hyped “Extended Cut) didn’t show Joker after his helicopter had crashed. There have already been reports about a deleted scene where Joker, grenade in hand, pleaded with Harley to leave the Squad and head back to Gotham with him. But that’s not the full story. As Ayer explained, there’s another deleted scene where Joker, post-crash, makes a deal with Enchantress. He would take Harley Quinn away from the Squad, thereby weakening them and ensuring her victory. (Because, of course, the team’s strongest element was a normal human woman with a baseball bat and severe mental trauma.)
After Joker dropped HQ from the help and crashed, Enchantress made a deal with him. He was going to take Harley home and be “King of Gotham” Harley stood up to him and refused to betray her new friends. The Squad turned on him and he escaped. https://t.co/unnOewEYBQ
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) March 24, 2018
Ayer followed it up by saying that this was supposed to be Harley Quinn’s character arc, signifying her “growth and development” over the course of the film – agreeing with a commenter that Harley’s story should have been about Harley going from being Joker’s victim to rejecting him and embracing the Suicide Squad. The earlier version apparently showed Joker as far more abusive to Harley, and things were changed to make their relationship seem more romantic. Signs of his abusive behaviour still linger in the film, but any suggestion that Harley grows beyond him are undone by the end of the film, when Joker shows up outside Harley’s jail cell and she’s super happy to see him.
Apparently, we’re still getting a Joker and Harley Quinn movie – along with a new Joker film, a new Harley film, a Gotham City Sirens film, and a sequel to Suicide Squad. So, maybe this will be explored in one of the million spinoffs and sequels that DC has suggested may-kinda-sorta-happen one day. In the meantime, we can keep enjoying that time Joker hung out in a carefully laid-out halo of knives that probably took one of his lackeys two hours to put together. And did he get so much as a thank you? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Sorry Joker, your laugh isn’t enough appreciation for your lackey’s hard work. Image: Warner Bros.
[via Entertainment Weekly]