The DCU’s Suicide Squad Reboot Could Finally Use A Canceled DCEU Plan

The DCEU’s Suicide Squad abandoned one plan that would be great for the upcoming DC Universe. 2016’s Suicide Squad initially generated a lot of excitement from DC fans thanks to the movie’s dynamic trailers; however, that led to the studio deciding to make major changes to the film to make it more similar to the tone of the trailers, resulting in lackluster reception for the actual instalment upon release. Suicide Squad has been subject to a degree of controversy since, as director David Ayer has expressed displeasure for the number of cut Suicide Squad scenes he shot for the film that ended up on the cutting room floor to facilitate the studio’s tweaked final version.

That decision made by the studio has turned into a movement for the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad to be released, with the director supporting it. However, before all of this, the director had already abandoned a few of the ideas he had explored for his version of the Suicide Squad, which included some classic DC villains that could have made their way into the film. One particular character choice for Ayer’s Suicide Squad would’ve reimagined an already popular DC movie character, who subsequently didn’t appear in the DCEU movie timeline after being cut. However, the new DC Universe could explore that possibility in a possible Suicide Squad reboot.

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Ayer’s Suicide Squad could have included the Batman villain Scarecrow for the first time in a movie since he appeared in director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. While he wasn’t in Suicide Squad, concept art for Scarecrow in the film has since become public.

Scarecrow looks great in the abandoned DCEU concept art. The villain appears with his signature mask and straw hat, with a sickle in hand and a casual tone added to his design through Scarecrow’s tattered jeans. With the DC Universe soon debuting, one of the upcoming DC movies could be a Suicide Squad reboot, and Scarecrow would be a great choice to show up there.

As Suicide Squad sits among the DCEU’s most criticized movies, it was perhaps for the best that Scarecrow was not in the film. However, Ayer’s original idea of bringing back Scarecrow to the big screen was a good one, and the DC Universe should capitalize on it. With James Gunn saying that the DCU will be more in line with the comics than the DCEU, Scarecrow showing up as either a member of the new universe’s Suicide Squad or a villain for the team could lead to some mind-bending fight scenes thanks to the effects of his fear toxin, making him an exciting possible addition for the new DC Universe.

Suicide Squad was not the success DC expected it to be, but the franchise course-corrected after it. 2021’s The Suicide Squad was universally beloved, with Gunn introducing a mostly new iteration of the team and presenting a more fun take. Its spin-off series, Peacemaker, was also strongly received, showing the Suicide Squad could be a popular fixture of the new DC Universe. Gunn’s DCU could use the team to introduce multiple characters at once, especially using minor characters that would not work as the focus of a solo project. As such, whenever the DCU’s version of the team debuts, the abandoned Suicide Squad Scarecrow would be a solid choice to add to the new era of the franchise.

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