Warners Says It Won't Bend to #AyerCut or #RestoretheSnyderverse

After a weekend where they lit social media ablaze with reactions to Zack Snyder's auteur vision, it's no wonder fans across the world are asking for Warner Bros. to allow David Ayer to be given the same treatment on his much-maligned Suicide Squad. 

But in an interview with Variety, WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff brushes aside the idea that Ayer’s Suicide Squad would be recut or redistributed. She said simply, “We won’t be developing David Ayer’s cut.”

Ayer fired back on Twitter with a simple "Why?"

Sarnoff didn't provide the why, but I think it's safe to assume they think they allowed the director to make the movie he wanted, and they want to protect their upcoming reboot of that franchise tentpole. 

When it came time to address restoring the planned "Snyderverse," Sarnoff said, “I appreciate that they love Zack’s work and we are very thankful for his many contributions to DC. We’re just so happy that he could bring his cut of the Justice League to life because that wasn’t in the plan until about a year ago. With that comes the completion of his trilogy. We’re very happy we’ve done this, but we’re very excited about the plans we have for all the multi-dimensional DC characters that are being developed right now.”

That may not be music for fans' ears, but it seems as if Warner is ready to put this stunt behind them, as it was meant to get more subscribers to HBO Max. They have James Gunn's Suicide Squad coming, plus his spinoff TV show. They're also developing a Blue Beetle movie, more Shazam, and even a Black Adam film. And that doesn't account for the Matt Reeves Batman or the Ta-Nehisi Coates Superman film. 

Fans will always want what they want, but demands on studios and online bullying left a sour taste in the mouth of many involved.

When addressing toxic fandom, Sarnoff said, "We’re not tolerating any of that. That behavior is reprehensible no matter what franchise you’re talking about or what business you’re talking about. It’s completely unacceptable. I’m very disappointed in the fans that have chosen to go to that negative place with regard to DC, with regard to some of our executives. It’s just disappointing because we want this to be a safe place to be. We want DC to be a fandom that feels safe and inclusive. We want people to be able to speak up for the things they love, but we don’t want it to be a culture of canceling things that any small faction isn’t happy with. We are not about that. We are about positivity and celebration."

As we stated earlier, DC has several projects in the works that are very exciting. They seem to be favoring standalone movies and letting directors work within their creative vision, instead of adhering to a studio's look and feel. 

Sarnoff was unworried about the future of DC Comics on film.

"We’re always going to listen to our fans, but we are in service of the broadest fanbase and we owe them an integrated, holistic strategy," she said. "We are the shepherds of the franchise and hopefully when the fans see what we’ve got in store they’ll know that DC is in good hands across many different platforms with many different creators. We want different voices in the mix. For certain fans that want singular voices, they may be disappointed, but we would ask them to be patient and see what we’ve got in store because perhaps the newer voices in the mix will have just as compelling stories to tell. On balance, you of course want to listen to your fans, but we do want to stay true to our vision and our mission for DC and build that out."

Let us know what you think in the comments.