Throughout the history of DC Comics’ Suicide Squad, the group has been known to spotlight antiheroes from the publisher’s iconic roster as opposed to those with more heroic qualities, but in David Ayer‘s Suicide Squad, Ike Barinholtz‘s prison guard Griggs managed to be even more repulsive than the antiheroes he shared the screen with. In the years since the film was released, Ayer has noted that there is an abundance of additional and alternate scenes that would have been an even darker vision of the concept, with Barinholtz recently noting that he recorded even more disgusting dialogue that didn’t make it into the theatrical cut. Barinholtz can next be seen in The Afterparty, which premieres on Apple TV+ on January 28th.
“Gosh, you know, I never saw it. Maybe? There was definitely more stuff we shot, definitely more, I remember saying more gross things,” Barinholtz confirmed with ComicBook.com when asked if there was more Griggs in Ayer’s cut of the film. “I would assume so, I don’t know. We should start a hashtag, #ReleaseTheIkeCut. Does this sound like maybe something you would join me on?”
Released in 2016, Suicide Squad was a major financial success, but like that year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, its critical reception was highly disappointing. Between Ayer’s history as a filmmaker and the inherent intensity of the premise, Suicide Squad was primed to be an even darker look at the DC Extended Universe than anything audiences had seen before, though reports claim that the studio intervened to have Ayer reimagine his approach, as the dour nature of Zack Snyder’s DCEU films seemed to be a point of contention and the success of the lighthearted Guardians of the Galaxy rumoredly wanted Warner Bros. to channel a similar vibe with the film.
The following year, Snyder parted ways from Justice League and spent subsequent years teasing his “Snyder Cut” of how different his vision for that project was from what landed in theaters. Similarly, Ayer began teasing his original vision of Suicide Squad on social media, yet it would appear unlikely that the “Ayer Cut” of Suicide Squad could ever be released in any official capacity.
Barinholtz’s new Apple TV+ series is described, “The Afterparty centers on a murder mystery at a high school reunion. Each of the eight episodes features a retelling of the same night told through a different character’s perspective, each with its own unique visual style and film genre to match the teller’s personality.”
The Afterparty premieres on Apple TV+ on January 28th. Stay tuned for details on the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad.
Would you like to see more of Griggs in the alternate cut of the film? Let us know in the comments below!