Suicide Squad Director Gets Honest About the Joker's Controversial Tattoo

The 2016 version of Suicide Squad remains to be one of the most critically-panned DCEU films to date. Most of the criticisms went toward its muddled plot, the writing and portrayal of some of the characters, and its choppy editing.

Director David Ayer himself has also expressed his frustration over the theatrical cut of the film and teased that the version that we saw was different from his own cut which led fans to petition for the release of the "Ayer Cut" similar to the Snyder Cut movement in Justice League.

One of the criticisms that the film received is Jared Leto's portrayal of Joker, which remain divided amongst fans in his subsequent appearances in the DCEU.

We also learned during the aftermath of the release of the film that a lot of scenes involving Leto's Joker and Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn were cut from the final version and it is likely that we will be able to see them when the "Ayer Cut" gets released.

David Ayer Addresses Joker's Tattoo in Suicide Squad

Credit: Warner Bros.

In his recent post on X, Ayer addressed the Joker's controversial "damaged" tattoo on his forehead in Suicide Squad where he admitted that it was his own idea and issued his regret about the creative decision on his look.

"I own the tattoo idea 100%. It was my choice. Original idea is it would say “Blessed” and not “Damaged” Now having said that — I regret that decision. It created acrimony and division," he wrote.

"Not every idea is a good idea. And I’ll just be in the corner here while the internet slaps me around for this post."

The "damaged" tattoo was criticized for being too on point and an unnecessary part of the character's look.

It is uncommon to see a director admit a mistake on a creative decision in a film that they made years ago. It is certainly worth appreciating to see Ayer own up to the choice that he made since we don't usually see this happen.

It also seemed like they responded to that criticism when Leto showed up again in Zack Snyder's Justice League where the tattoo was notably absent and they changed his entire look as it was very different from his appearance in Suicide Squad.

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Now, Ayer is continuing to support the petition for the release of his version of Suicide Squad. While it is unlikely to happen anytime soon, he hinted that DC Studios co-chairman James Gunn has given him assurance that it could still be released sometime in the future.