David Ayer Hired To Write And Direct ‘The Dirty Dozen’ Remake

Warner Bros is getting a move on with their contemporary remake of The Dirty Dozen, with studio heads already hiring David Ayer to write and direct, according to Deadline. With Ayer in the director’s chair, Simon Kinberg will produce the film under his Genre banner and Ayer’s Cedar Park Entertainment. Ayer previously directed for Warner Bros with Suicide Squad, the James Gunn-led sequel soon to join it next year.

Originally based on E.M. Nathanson’s novel on the real life squadron titled Filthy Thirteen, the 1967 war epic was directed by Robert Aldrich and included a powerhouse cast Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, Robert Ryan, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, and Robert Webber. The film centers around a secret mission completed before the Invasion of Normandy, in which a group of army prisoners practiced for a near-suicidal task as they look to assault the German chateau in Brittany where an important Nazi meeting is being held. The group’s intent is to eliminate the Nazi’s hierarchy before the looming D-Day invasion.

Ayer will be adding a contemporary spin of his own to the film, which will include a multi-ethnic cast. The script will be polished up thanks to one of Ayer’s colleagues, Marco Ramirez, and is expected to enter production in 2020.