Despite grossing almost $750 million worldwide, 2016’s DC supervillain team-up Suicide Squad was absolutely savaged by critics, and director David Ayer has been chatting to EW about the overwhelmingly negative critical reaction, revealing that it shook his confidence when getting back behind the camera for his next film Bright.
“It was shit,” said Ayer. “Yeah, it was shit reviews. I got my throat cut. It was a super polarizing movie. Incredibly polarizing. It’s like going to the boxing ring and getting knocked out is how it felt. And I had to go into the ring again. And directing is a confidence game, because you’re selling everyone on something that only exists in your head. The actors have to feel that confidence to trust that you know what you’re doing, and so does your crew. As a director, you set the tone. Really, it’s coming off that movie, I understood the pitfalls, I understood the dangers, I knew where the alligators hide, you know? And so I made damn sure I didn’t repeat any mistakes.”
Unfortunately for Ayer, Bright didn’t fare much better with critics, with one reviewer even going as far as to call it “the single worst movie of 2017”. Ayer went on to respond to that particular review, stating that: “This is going on my fridge. Highest compliment is a strong reaction either way. This is a f–king epic review. It’s a big fun movie. You can sure string words together Mr. [Ehrlich]. I’d love to read any script you’ve written.”
While both Suicide Squad and Bright struggled in terms of reviews, both are getting sequels, although Ayer won’t be returning for Suicide Squad 2. He is however attached to another DC project in Gotham City Sirens, assuming Warner Bros. still has plans to move forward with it following its DC Films restructure.
Originally published January 7, 2018. Updated April 16, 2018.
