Working Man Director David Ayer Still Hopes for a Suicide Squad Cut

For David Ayer, 2024’s The Beekeeper was exactly what the doctor ordered. 

The action-thriller starring Jason Statham was a critical and commercial win for Ayer, grossing over $160 million against a $40 million budget. The second-most profitable film in the filmmaker’s body of work couldn’t have happened at a better time since he’d gone through various ups and downs following the release of 2016’s Suicide Squad. Consequently, Ayer and Statham quickly re-upped their newly minted partnership for A Working Man, which is an adaptation of Chuck Dixon’s Levon’s Trade, the first installment in his dozen-book series.

Sylvester Stallone penned the initial draft of the script before passing the material on to his frequent collaborator, Statham. The story centers on a blue-collar construction worker named Levon Cade who reluctantly reconnects with his Royal Marines Commando skill set in order to recover his boss’ (Michael Pena) kidnapped daughter. Thus, on the heels of Beekeeper’s box office win, Statham knew that Ayer was perfectly suited to rewrite the actioner for himself to direct.

“[The rewrite] was about adding a lot of the family layer and the warmth of it and relocating it to Chicago. It was originally set in Tampa, Florida, so there were all these little changes,” Ayer tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I then made it a little bit more in my language and my storytelling language, so [Stallone] really gave me a license to go and make it my own.”

When Ayer last spoke to THR in early 2024, he’d all but given up on the idea that his director’s cut of Suicide Squad would be released someday. There continues to be radio silence from DC Studios, but as per a previous conversation with co-CEO James Gunn, Ayer knows that Gunn’s new DC universe needs to have the wind at its back before it can consider looking backward.

“It’s absolutely fair for them to do that. Maybe with enough time, it’ll be seen as a more nostalgic thing. But just for the sake of everybody that worked on [2016’s Suicide Squad], it really does deserve to be seen,” Ayer says. “So I absolutely understand what James is doing, and I think he’s going to have some real successes with the lanes he’s going down.”

In the meantime, Ayer isn’t slowing down, as he’s about to begin production on Heart of the Beast with Brad Pitt, the star of one of his most acclaimed films, Fury (2014). Based on a script by Cameron Alexander, the film chronicles the survival efforts of an ex-soldier (Pitt) and his war dog after their plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness. The pic will be photographed by DP Mauro Fiore, who previously shot the Ayer-written Training Day for Antoine Fuqua. 

“I got ahold of one of the best scripts I’ve ever read, and I was like, ‘I’ve got to direct this.’ I also couldn’t imagine anybody but Brad to do it. He was the first-and-only actor we went out to, and he saw what I saw in the script,” Ayer shares. “So this is definitely an A-game movie, and it’s going to be a big traditional cinematic experience and a really wonderful picture for Paramount.”

Below, during a conversation with THR last month, Ayer also discusses his openness to helming a sequel to A Working Man, as well as its End of Watch reunions with Michael Pena and David Harbour.

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We last spoke for The Beekeeper, and I was happy to see you get a win, both critically and commercially. Did you feel rejuvenated to some degree?

I did. I made that movie on a thesis of really making something for the audience and intentionally making a commercial film. At the same time, I was showcasing my filmmaker’s heart. And, to have that work, I don’t want to say I was surprised, but it was really reaffirming, for sure.

Was A Working Man already in motion when Beekeeper came out? Or did that box office success prompt a quick re-team with Jason?

It definitely prompted a quick re-team, and Jason and I really liked working together. I saw what his capabilities are as an actor, and I felt like he could be doing a lot more, especially in the dramatic space. That’s why there’s these family elements and dramatic elements where he has an opportunity to smile and interact as a dad and be a part of this larger adopted family. It really helps set up the action of the story so well. 

Despite the success of your first collaboration, did you both reinvent the process to some degree?

Yeah, for sure. You don’t want to make the same movie over and over again. I take great inspiration from the ‘80s and ‘90s action movies. They have things that really work and that we all remember, and you can still watch them again and again. And it’s like, “Why does this work? What is happening? What is the craft? What is the technique behind it, and what parts are repeatable?” So, just giving Jason another opportunity to show more of what he can do as an actor, that was a big part of the exercise for me. I then made sure he had that real estate to really be who he can be.

Sly Stallone wrote the initial script based on Chuck Dixon’s book, Levon’s Trade. I’ve always wondered about this when a new writer joins a project, but was there any kind of handoff between you and Sly? 

A little bit. He adapted Chuck’s book, and novels have so much more room to tell a story than film. So he successfully broke the story into a nice three-act structure, and that’s really the heavy lifting of any script. And then, for me, it was about adding a lot of the family layer and the warmth of it and relocating it to Chicago. It was originally set in Tampa, Florida, so there were all these little changes. I then made it a little bit more in my language and my storytelling language, so [Stallone] really gave me a license to go and make it my own. 

It was nice to see you and Michael Pena back together. You certainly gave him some emotional heavy lifting here, but was he glad to not be put through the physical wringer like he was on End of Watch and Fury?

(Laughs.) Yeah, this was definitely a heavy [emotional] load, but the physical conditions were a lot nicer than he’s used to with me. But it’s great to collaborate with him again. What people may not know about Mike is how technical and smart he is as an actor, and how much he breaks it down to get inside of things. He could give a master class on any character he plays and why he’s playing it the way he is. So he always reminds me of how hard the actor has to work. 

In End of Watch, David Harbour’s character took a knife in the eye, so it’s fitting that his character in A Working Man is blind. 

(Laughs.)

Based on his beard, were you sharing him with Thunderbolts at the same time?

I may have been. The beard was definitely fortuitous because it works with the character of an ex-Special Forces Marine. So it definitely made sense for the character, and he just looks great in it. He’s so believable as his retired sergeant, Gunny.

Did that End of Watch spinoff series ever get off the ground?

We got caught in the development cycle that often happens. Television is a hard space, especially now.

For Beekeeper, you returned to veteran DP Gabriel Beristain from earlier in your career. For Working Man, you went with a first-time DP, and long-time gaffer, in Shawn White, who did a nice job.

Yeah, it’s an amazing-looking film. I’m very hands-on, maybe more so than most directors, and that includes lighting setups and roughing stuff in and chasing looks. So it’s great to have somebody who can collaborate in that space. It’s all part of the storytelling. It all makes a huge impact on the story: how light behaves, how you use the tools, how you use camera and lens choices. And now, having said that, I’m working with Mauro Fiore on the Brad [Pitt] film [Heart of the Beast] that I’m going into. So every project evolves its own visual language, and you’ve got to find the right team for that language. [Writer’s Note: DP Mauro Fiore shot the Ayer-penned Training Day.]

In the finale, Levon uses an M14 rifle inside a house, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a longer weapon used in close quarters like that. Was this meant to be an unconventional choice?

Yeah, exactly. Everybody falls into the same sort of tropes and the same sort of visuals. The M14 is really associated with the Marine Corps, and it did a lot of work in Afghanistan during the War on Terror. In the story, it’s inferred that this is a known weapon and that there’s an emotional piece to it. So I just wanted to flip the script a little bit, and for the gun people out there, there’ll either be outrage or they’ll embrace it. We’re going to find out. (Laughs.)

I really appreciated Levon’s relationship with Chidi Ajufo’s Dutch. It’s always a compelling dynamic when opponents respect each other to that degree.

“But for the grace of God, there go I.” They’re both veterans. They have that shared history, and there’s a brotherhood and respect that comes from that world. I’ve met plenty of bad guys that are good guys, and I’ve met some good guys that are bad guys. So it’s part of what I explore in my work, and just because people are in certain situations, it doesn’t define who they are and how they are.

The movie ends satisfyingly, but it still leaves a thread for future installments. You’ve never really made a sequel before, but are you open to coming back to Levon’s world?

Yeah, absolutely. Chuck wrote 12 books. It’s a really interesting character. I feel like we cracked the code with Jason and worldizing Chuck’s novels. There’s definitely some unresolved things in the story, and it’s perfectly teed up for [a sequel]. So I could definitely see myself coming back. I really liked the character a lot. 

When we last spoke, you mentioned that there was radio silence with regard to your director’s cut of Suicide Squad. Is all still quiet on the Burbank front? 

Yeah, for sure. When I did speak with James [Gunn], he wanted to [first] get some scores on the board. DC has its history and its legacy, and it’s taking some work to reestablish that IP and get it moving in the direction they want. So it’s absolutely fair for them to do that. 

It’s a tricky thing. The previous regime likely hoped that the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League would satisfy the fans enough for them to move on to their new stuff. But all it did was increase their appetite even more for the Snyderverse (including the Ayer cut).

Yeah, maybe with enough time, it’ll be seen as a more nostalgic thing. But just for the sake of everybody that worked on [2016’s Suicide Squad], it really does deserve to be seen. I am incredibly proud of the work I did there. But at the same time, it’s not my IP, and it’s not my studio. So I absolutely understand what James is doing, and I think he’s going to have some real successes with the lanes he’s going down.

I was under the wrong impression that the bake-off consisted of your cut and the studio cut. Your cut of Suicide Squad was never actually tested. How is that even possible? 

A lot of the major elements got vetoed early on. The bake-off was then my version of their cut and their version of their cut. My version mostly won, but it still was not the movie I made at all. 

As you touched on earlier, you’re reuniting with your Fury star, Brad Pitt, for Heart of the Beast. How did this come about?

I got ahold of one of the best scripts I’ve ever read, and I was like, “I’ve got to direct this.” I also couldn’t imagine anybody but Brad to do it. He was the first-and-only actor we went out to, and he saw what I saw in the script [by Cameron Alexander]. So we’re getting close to going to camera on that, and it’s just exciting to collaborate with him again. It’s also challenging because he’s at the top of his game, and he’s where he’s at for a reason. So this is definitely an A-game movie, and it’s going to be a big traditional cinematic experience and a really wonderful picture for Paramount.

Is it basically a man and dog survival story? 

That’s the basic one line. There’s a lot going on, and there’s a lot of heart to it. So it’s deceptively simple and deceptively complex.

After peppering you with all sorts of Harsh Times questions in our last interview, I was pleased to see that it’ll also have a J.K. Simmons reunion.

Yeah, I’m glad to be working with him again, and he’s an absolute monster of an actor. He is so strong, and seeing him collaborate with Brad is going to be incredible. 

Lastly, is Heart of the Beast the reason why you’re not helming The Beekeeper 2?

Yeah, my card is full.

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A Working Man opens in theaters on March 28.