Back in May, it looked like theScarfacereboot was finally on the right track, with the studio bringing aboard David Ayer to direct. Now, Universal must go back to the drawing board.David Ayerhas parted ways with the project, making him the fourth director this project has lost, following David Yates (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Pablo Larrain (Jackie) and Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). On paper, David Ayer seemed to be a perfect fit for this project, since the remake will be set in Los Angeles, where the filmmaker grew up, but it seems the studio didn’t see eye to eye with his take.
The Hollywood Reporterreveals that Universal thought the director’s take was “too dark” for their tastes. Before David Ayer boarded the project, Universal had been eyeing David McKenzie (Hell Or High Water) and Peter Berg (Patriots Day). Ironically, Ayer had originally come aboard to write the script for thisScarface rebootway back in November 2011, when he was primarily known as a screenwriter (Training Day), although he did have two directorial efforts under his belt at the time, 2005’sHarsh Timesand 2008’sStreet Kings.Antoine Fuquaparted ways with the project in January, since it was conflicting with his schedule for Sony’sThe Equalizer 2, which has been set for release on June 20, 2025.
The originalScarfacehit theaters in 1932, starring Paul Muni as Chicago gangster Tony Camonte. 51 years later, Universal’s iconicScarfaceshowcased Al Pacino in a towering performance as Miami gangster Tony Montana. Falling in line with the first two movies, this reboot will be set in Los Angeles, and feature the rise and fall of a new gangster character, who will be played byDiego Luna. Dylan Clark will be producing alongside Martin Bregman, who produced the 1983 Al Pacino version ofScarface. The script has gone through many different writers, with Paul Attanasio (Donnie Brasco), Jonathan Herman (Straight Outta Compton), and Terence Winter (The Wolf of Wall Street) taking a crack at the script.
What’s interesting is this new report makes no mention of the August 04, 2025 release date that was set in February when theCoen Brotherscame aboard to take the latest crack at the script. If a director isn’t found soon, it’s possible that Universal may have to push thisScarfacereboot out of that date, perhaps into a late 2018 or early 2018 slot. As of now,Scarfacewill be going up against Warner Bros.' shark thrillerMeg, Paramount’s comedyAmusement Parkand Tri-Star’sThe Nightingale. If a director isn’t found soon, though, the studio may have to abandon this date.
When David Ayer came aboard, it was slightly confusing to some fans, since he had already signed on to directGotham City Sirens, although there is no release date set for that project. David Ayer’s next directorial effort isBright, which reunited the filmmaker withSuicide Squadstar Will Smith, alongside Joel Edgerton. While no release date has been given forBrightyet, it is expected to debut sometime this December on the Netflix streaming service. As forScarface, hopefully the studio can find a director in the near future to get this project back on the right track.
