It's hard to get excited about remakes these days. Between updates like Point Break, Red Dawn, and Evil Dead, reimaginings of classic films have ranged from terrible to just mediocre in recent years. However, we can still get very excited about a project when we learn that some top notch talent is interested. On that note, the upcoming Scarface remake has been looking for a director for the last few months, and it may have just found one in the form of Suicide Squad's David Ayer.
A new report from Variety confirms that Suicide Squad director David Ayer is currently in talks to step behind the camera for Universal's upcoming Scarface update. Training Day's Antoine Fuqua was originally slated to direct the remake (based on a script penned by The Coen Brothers), but recently dropped out of the project. The overall description of the project sounds like it will maintain the core story and narrative feeling of Brian De Palma's 1982 Scarface film, but update the setting and protagonist to focus on a Mexican immigrant's rise to power in Los Angeles. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's Diego Luna was at one point attached to headline the film as its new version of Tony Montana, but it remains unclear whether or not he has opted to stick around in the wake of Fuqua's departure.
As excited as we were for Antoine Fuqua's take on Scarface, David Ayer would make a suitable replacement -- if not an improvement. Although his work on the DCEU's Suicide Squad is arguably his most high-profile endeavor to date, Ayer has cut his teeth as a director for grounded and gritty crime dramas like End of Watch, Harsh Times, and Street Kings -- to name a few. He excels in morally ambiguous and dirty worlds, so we're intrigued to see what he does with the Scarface lore.
Despite the lackluster (or downright negative) response to David Ayer's work on Suicide Squad, it's worth remembering that many of that film's issues weren't necessarily his fault. The film was notoriously bogged down by studio oversight, and many of the moments that have his clear fingerprints on them are some of the standout sequences in the movie. In particular, the alleyway fight in which Deadshot turns into a first person shooter with all of the cheat codes turned on is pure Ayer -- and it perfectly showcases his ability to nail grit, grime, and stylish action. Take a look at the scene below:
Of course, this doesn't mean that David Ayer is getting out of the superhero game altogether. He's still attached to get the Harley Quinn-centric Gotham City Sirens off of the ground, so our hope remains high that he will continue to remain part of the comic book movie world as he delves into other projects like Scarface.
We will bring you more information concerning the Scarface remake as new details are made available to us. The film is currently gearing up to hit theaters on August 10, 2018. If you're currently on the lookout for more information related to the rest of this year's most highly anticipated movie debuts, check out our comprehensive 2017 premiere guide.
