Suicide Squad director David Ayer revealed on Twitter some changes he would have made to the film.
In a fan conversation, Ayer tweeted how he wished the Joker was the main villain in the movie. However, instead of the Joker, the Enchantress became the primary baddie Suicide Squad.
Believe me. I agonize over this. Yes. Joker should have been main bad guy.
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) November 26, 2017
Yeah it was a big fun silly movie. It could have been a bigger success had I done it a little different. But it did great and made an impression.
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) November 26, 2017
How the Squad Could Have Been Better
Ayer admitting that Suicide Squad was not the best film he could have done is refreshingly candid. Also, having the Joker as the main villain would benefit the film in multiple ways.
One of the biggest critiques of Suicide Squad is that the Joker’s subplot was incidental and not relevant to the main story. Placing the Joker as the main villain would put him in the center of the story and make him more essential to the narrative.
Also, the movie would be much more grounded without the extra-paranormal threats of the Enchantress and Incubus. Given that most of Task Force X is made up of low-level powers, having the Joker as the villain would have been a more logical and proportionate threat. After all, are Enchantress’ magic zombies really that menacing if they get taken out with a baseball bat and pistol?
One does not need to have much imagination for what a good Suicide Squad movie would look like with the Joker as the antagonist. All the filmmakers had to do was refer to the animated film Suicide Squad: Assault on Arkham. There is no need to completely reinvent the wheel, Warner Bros.