Suicide Squad was a big hit among mainstream audiences and made $746.8 million at the box office but critics hated it, as evident by its 26% Rotten Tomatoes score. Director David Ayer just released his first movie since then, a Netflix original called Bright, and spoke to Entertainment Tonight about how Suicide Squad influenced it.
“It was sh*t. Yeah, it was sh*t reviews. I got my throat cut,” Ayer said of Suicide Squad. “It was a super polarizing movie. Incredibly polarizing.”
Ayer told ET that the poor critical response to Suicide Squad made him a bit "gun shy" about taking on Bright.
“Yeah, for sure. It made me gun shy. 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,” Ayer added. “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.”
Critics didn't like Bright much more than Suicide Squad, it currently sits at 28% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, much like Suicide Squad, Bright was a big hit and Netflix has already announced that Ayer will be coming back for a sequel.
SOURCE: Entertainment Tonight (via Entertainment Weekly)
