The DC Universe has had plenty of peaks and valleys over the years. One of the first movies to arrive outside of Zack Snyder's trilogy was David Ayer's 2016 blockbuster Suicide Squad. That movie failed to impress in theaters, although the DC flick did win an Oscar for makeup. Lots of stories came out about the cast's behavior on set, including the day that they all gave each other's tattoos. Here's why Ayer totally regrets his tattoo choice from that infamous Suicide Squad day.
The first Suicide Squad movie filmed back in 2015, with a killer cast that included Margot Robbie, Will Smith, and Jared Leto. Stories about Leto's behavior went viral, including the wild gifts he would allegedly sent his co-stars. Then there's the day everyone got tattoos, forever memorializing a movie that didn't come out quite as planned.
The Story Of The Suicide Squad's Matching Tattoos
One fateful day on the set of Suicide Squad, Harley's tattoo parlor opened. The story quickly went viral, with David Ayer personally tweeting out photos of Margot Robbie with a tattoo gun. You can check out that image below, and see the Barbie actress in a far more grungy environment.
#skwad pic.twitter.com/HOZDytXnjpAugust 18, 2015
But Margot Robbie wasn't the only person who wielded the tattoo gun while on the set of Suicide Squad. Will Smith also got in on the fun, and tattooed "SKWAD" on the bicep of co-star Joel Kinnaman. While Smith was absent, Kinnaman would reprise his role as Rick Flag in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. He shared a now-deleted image on his Instagram, with the caption reading:
Will has many many talents, tattooing is not one of them. It was like watching a drunk baby fly a helicopter.
Smith wasn't alone in this. While she was in the zone of tattooing, Margot Robbie also screwed up someone's ink, misspelling "SKWAD" in the process. But hey, maybe it could be fixed by a professional? Captain Boomerang actor Jai Courtney also shared an in image of his own tattoo, which you can see below:
Given the high profile nature of Suicide Squad and popularity of the growing DC Universe, the cast likely thought that they were starting a burgeoning franchise and would be working together for years. But that didn't happen, with David Ayer claiming that the studio greatly changed the movie. Those tattoos, however, are still around for those brave enough to do that bonding on set.
What David Ayer Thinks Of His Tattoo Now
David Ayer didn't get a "SKWAD" tattoo, but another word entirely when joining in on Suicide Squad's infamous day of ink. But it turns out that he regrets his choice, which was to put the word "damaged" on him. He recently tweeted out his thoughts, saying:
I own the tattoo idea 100%. It was my choice. Original idea is it would say 'Blessed' and not 'Damaged' Now having said that — I regret that decision. It created acrimony and division. Not every idea is a good idea. And I’ll just be in the corner here while the internet slaps me around for this post. 😅
Well, at least he's got a good attitude about it all. Despite Suicide Squad hitting theaters back in in 2016, David Ayer has spent years talking about his work on the DC movie, including the parts that didn't make it to theaters.
Following the announcement that the Snyder Cut was officially happening at Warner Bros. some fans immediately began campaigning for Suicide Squad to get the same treatment aka the Ayer Cut. For his part, David Ayer has released BTS images that have kept that conversation happening.
Suicide Squad is currently streaming with a Max subscription. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
