‘Suicide Squad’: David Ayer Says Steppenwolf Was Originally Involved

Many big-budget blockbuster films undergo numerous changes throughout the entire filmmaking process, and there’s a particularly unique process when a film is part of a shared continuity and universe that can potentially conflict with other stories. In the DC Extended Universe, Suicide Squad by director David Ayer notoriously went through many changes before it hit theaters following the reception to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. One of those changes included the involvement of Steppenwolf.

On his official Twitter, David Ayer responded to a tweet asking if concept art for Suicide Squad that featured Steppenwolf and Parademons battling with Task Force X was indicative of the original plans for the film. Ayer confirmed that this was the case:

Ayer also confirmed that the big boss battle at the end of the film was originally going to be Steppenwolf:

Because Justice League underwent many changes of its own, Suicide Squad had to update its plans in accordance to it. It is always interesting to hear about some of the original plans that DCEU directors had for their films, especially as we enter a new post-Justice League era in the franchise.

The first Suicide Squad followed a team of supervillains who were recruited by the government for a dangerous black ops mission in exchange for reduced sentences. The ensemble cast included Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, and Jared Leto as The Joker, all three of whom were expected to reprise their roles in the sequel before James Gunn became involved in the project. Although Suicide Squad earned mixed reviews, at best, the film became a box office hit for DC with a worldwide gross of $750 million.

Suicide Squad 2 is one of many projects currently being developed by Warner Bros. and DC Films, including The Batman, The Flash standalone film, Green Lantern Corps, Birds of Prey, Black Adam, Cyborg, Nightwing, Supergirl, New Gods, a Deathstroke film, and a Joker origin movie set outside of the DCEU.