"Suicide Squad" may have performed well in the box office, grossing an impressive $745 million. However, fans cannot say the same critically.
Apart from the misleading marketing and underdeveloped characters, one of its biggest letdowns was Cara Delevingne's Enchantress as the primary villain. Director David Ayer himself admits this in a recent social media posting, saying Jared Leto's Joker should have been in that position instead.
Responding to a fan review on Twitter that suggested Leto would have made a better villain, Ayer said he regrets putting the character on the sidelines, too.
"Believe me. I agonize over this," he wrote. "Yes. Joker should have been main bad guy."
This is not the first time the director has spoken about how he would change the Joker's role if he could go back in time. As recalled, "Suicide Squad" premiered August last year to negative reviews, only raking 26 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While many fans had defended the film, even the most hardcore ones agree that the Enchantress being the main big bad was the worst part of it.
Earlier this year, he spoke about doing things differently, if given the chance to go back in time.
"Wish I had a time machine," he wrote in a letter on Twitter. "I'd make Joker the main villain and engineer a more grounded story. I have to take the good and bad and learn from it."
Most critics pointed out how the Joker was showcased in the trailers only to have a short screen time in the actual film. He is one of DC's most iconic villains so using him as the film's main antagonist would have made sense. Then again, Leto's portrayal of the character was pretty divisive itself, so it would have carried some issues, too.
"Suicide Squad 2" is still happening, so his lack of screen time in the first installment will hopefully be compensated in the second one. Rumor has it Leto will be reprising his role in the sequel, although he has not confirmed it yet.
As for Ayer, he is stepping away from the franchise for now, helming "Gotham City Sirens" instead. Starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and two yet-to-be-announced actresses to play Poison Ivy and Catwoman, the project is still in development without a release date yet. Such is also the case with "Suicide Squad 2," but it is expected to start filming in March 2018 for a 2019 release.
