As far as prolific directors go, there aren’t many that can top the productivity of David Ayer. Despite the up and down nature of the critical success of each feature, Ayer still finds a way to keep the wheels of his career moving forward, with film after film coming at a fairly breakneck pace. And so, with that in mind, it isn’t all that surprising that the director’s next film is already announced when he hasn’t finished his upcoming one and is in development on at least one other project. The man likes to work.
Deadline is now reporting that Ayer is in negotiations to direct the World War II tank battle film “El-Alamein.” Now, if you read that sentence and are thinking, “But wait, didn’t Ayer already direct a tank battle film?” then you’re right on the money. In fact, 2014’s “Fury,” which featured Shia LaBeouf and Brad Pitt was a pretty big success financially and critically for the filmmaker.
However, “El-Alamein” is a different beast than “Fury.” The new film is set to cover the series of battles during World War II that saw German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel fight Britain’s Eighth Army in North Africa. It’s known for being a brutal series of battles, where tanks played a key part in the outcome.
As mentioned, Ayer is already in post-production on his upcoming thriller “The Tax Collector” and is still attached to “Bright 2,” if that film ever gets going. He’s probably best known for his previous films “Suicide Squad,” “End of Watch,” and “Training Day,” for which he only wrote the script.
No word on where “El-Alamein” would be released, but the studio is hoping to begin work on the feature in early 2020.