Director David Ayer Offers Update on His THE DIRTY DOZEN Remake

Back in 2019 it was announced that David Ayer was going to be directing a remake of the classic 1967 action film The Dirty Dozen for Warner Bros. Since the project was announced there haven’t been many updates, but we’ve got one to share with you today!

In a recent interview with /Film, Ayer was asked about the film’s status and this was his response:

"I think we're still kicking the tires on that and trying to find the right angle. It's always difficult to take such a beloved and iconic IP and then answer the question of 'Why now? Why is this worthy of redoing now?' So it's always a moving target."

The original film is great, and I can definitely understand what Ayer means in this comment that he made. What’s the point of a remake if you can’t make a film that’s better than the original, and for a film like The Dirty Dozen, that’s not going to be easy.

When previously talking about this movie, Ayer indicated that he hopes the movie launches a new action franchise:

“I think it’s just an opportunity for a great ensemble action franchise. I’ll have a really solid lead character, and I see it in the vein of the Mission: Impossible movies, or the Fast and Furious franchise, for which I wrote the first one. It’s like anything, you build an amazing family of characters, and then you watch them bounce off of each other and drive each other crazy.”

Ayer also discussed the setting of his film and that it will be set during the present day and not during World War II like the original movie:

“For me, World War II is the Holy War. To do a more fun, comedic version of that war, I don’t think I could pull that off. But absolutely, I can do that present day, and have that fun and anarchy and wildness, and have modern characters with incredible diversity and real voices.”

The Dirty Dozen is based on the E.M. Nathanson novel that was inspired by a real group called the Filthy Thirteen. The story involved a top secret mission that was set into motion before the Normandy Invasion. It followed a group of hardened Army prisoners who “were trained to conduct a suicide mission, to stage an assault on a chateau in Brittany where dozens of high ranking German officers are meeting. The hope is that eliminating the leaders will help with the pending D-Day invasion. Those who survive are offered pardons.”

Do you think Ayer will actually be able to pull off a great remake of The Dirty Dozen?