David Ayer's unrealized projects

The following is a list of unproduced David Ayer projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American filmmaker David Ayer has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially canceled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.

2000s

The Wild Bunch remake

On November 4, 2005, it was announced Ayer was set to write and direct a modern-day remake of The Wild Bunch for Warner Bros. Pictures, with Jerry Weintraub and Mark Vahradian producing, but the film never materalized.[1] Ayer had written his own script, "updating the tale", according to Film Review.[2]

Cash Truck remake

On October 9, 2008, Ayer was hired to co-write with Andrew Kevin Walker Armored, the American remake of the 2004 French thriller Cash Truck, for F. Gary Gray to direct, with Eric Bana in talks to star, Millenium Films producing, and Paramount Pictures distributing.[3] The film would eventually be directed and co-written by Guy Ritchie and released as Wrath of Man, starring Jason Statham and produced by Miramax.[4]

Deep Sea Cowboys film

On February 13, 2009, Ayer was set to write the feature film adaptation of the Wired article "Deep Sea Cowboys," about a deep-sea salvage crew, for DreamWorks Pictures, with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci producing through their K/O Paper Products company; the film was retained by DreamWorks when it split from Paramount Pictures and was expected to be released through Disney's Touchstone Pictures label, but Paramount retained an option to co-finance and co-distribute the film.[5]

Last Man

On March 9, 2009, Ayer was set to write and direct the science fiction action film Last Man for New Regency and 20th Century Fox, with Erwin Stoff, Scott Stuber, and Pamela Abdy set to produce.[6]

2010s

Commando reboot

On April 28, 2010, Ayer was set to direct and write a reboot of Commando with Erwin Stoff and John Davis producing for 20th Century Fox.[7]

Scarface remake

On May 19, 2017, Ayer was set to direct a remake of Scarface for Universal Pictures from a screenplay by Jon Herman and the Coen Brothers, with Diego Luna set to star and Dylan Clark producing.[8] On July 12, 2017, Ayer left the project.[9]

Family Crimes TV series

On November 15, 2017, Ayer was set to direct and write Latina crime drama series Family Crimes for Starz; Ayer would also executive produce the series alongside Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, and KristieAnne Reed.[10] On April 27, 2018, Starz passed on the series.[11]

Bright sequel

Main article: Bright (film) § Scrapped sequel

The Bone Church TV series

On February 23, 2018, Ayer was set to executive produce a television series adaptation of Stephen King's poem "The Bone Church", with Chris Long producing with Ayer.[12]

Sons and Soldiers TV series

On October 19, 2018, Ayer was set to produce the television series adaptation of Bruce Anderson's World War 2 novel "Sons and Soldiers," with Ayer directing the pilot episode, Eric Tuchman writing the series and Entertainment One set to produce and distribute the series.[13]

El-Alamein film

On August 8, 2019, Ayer was set to direct a war film about the Second Battle of El Alamein for Lionsgate Films, with James Coyne writing the screenplay, Di Bonaventura Pictures' Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian producing with Thomas Augsberger; filming was planned to begin in early 2020.[14]

The Dirty Dozen reboot

On December 16, 2019, it was announced that Ayer would direct and write a contemporary-set reboot of The Dirty Dozen as a co-production with Simon Kinberg's Genre Films and Warner Bros. Pictures; the film was set to be fast-tracked for production in 2020.[15]

2020s

Six Years film

On May 26, 2020, it was announced Ayer would write and direct a feature film adaptation of Harlan Coben's novel Six Years for Netflix, with Ayer also set to produce the film with his Cedar Point Entertainment partner Chris Long.[16]

End of Watch TV series

On February 10, 2022, Ayer was set to executive produce and co-write a pilot for a television adaptation of his film End of Watch for Fox.[17]

References

  1. ^ Borys Kit; Sheigh Crabtree (November 4, 2005). "Ayer wrangles Warners redo of 'Wild Bunch'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 16, 2006. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  2. ^ Film Review. Orpheus Pub. 2006.
  3. ^ Fleming Jr., Michael (October 9, 2008). "Bana gets 'Armored' for Millennium". Variety. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  4. ^ Fleming Jr., Michael (October 7, 2019). "Jason Statham & Guy Ritchie Re-Team For Miramax Action Thriller". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  5. ^ Kit, Borys (February 13, 2009). "Ayer spins DW sea tale". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  6. ^ Fleming Jr., Michael (March 9, 2009). "New Regency lands 'Man'". Variety. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  7. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 28, 2010). "Fox To Remake Famed Schwarzenegger Pic". Deadline Hollywod. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  8. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 19, 2017). "David Ayer In Early Talks To Direct 'Scarface' Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  9. ^ Kim Masters (July 12, 2017). "Universal's 'Scarface' Reboot Loses Director David Ayer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  10. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 15, 2017). "Starz Nabs David Ayer Latino Drama 'Family Crimes' From Jerry Bruckheimer TV With Production Commitment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 27, 2018). "'Family Crimes' Drama From David Ayer & JBTV Not Going Forward At Starz". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  12. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 23, 2018). "Stephen King's 'The Bone Church' To Be Developed As Series By Chris Long & David Ayer's Cedar Park". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  13. ^ Petski, Denise (October 19, 2018). "eOne Acquires TV Rights To Bruce Henderson's 'Sons and Soldiers' Book With Eric Tuchman & David Ayer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  14. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (August 8, 2019). "David Ayer To Direct Lionsgate WWII Tank Battle Thriller 'El-Alamein'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  15. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 16, 2019). "Warner Bros Sets David Ayer For 'The Dirty Dozen' Remake; Simon Kinberg Producing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  16. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 26, 2020). "Netflix Acquires Harlan Coben Thriller Novel 'Six Years' For David Ayer To Script & Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  17. ^ Sharf, Zack (February 10, 2022). "'End Of Watch' TV Adaptation Co-Written By Movie's David Ayer Gets Fox Script-To-Series Commitment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2024.