David Ayer is returning to the World War II tank battle scene, this time for the true story El-Alamein. According to Deadline, the Lionsgate film will focus on the bloody tank battles waged between German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and Britain’s Eighth Army in North Africa, led by Bernard Montgomery.
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Film fans will recall Ayer directed the similarly themed 2014 WWII tank thriller Fury with Brad Pitt and Shia LeBeouf, which earned strong reviews (76% on Rotten Tomatoes) and grossed $68 million at the US box office. He knows his tanks.
This time, however, Ayer will stay grounded in history to tell the gripping tale of El-Alamein, in which British forces took a stand against a strong German force in order to prevent them from overtaking Egypt. Thanks to a help from New Zealand and Australia, the allies ultimately won the day against Rommel’s forces.
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David Self originally wrote the screenplay, with the most recent draft coming courtesy of James Coyne. Di Bonaventura Pictures’ Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian are producing with Thomas Augsberger with an eye for a 2020 production start date.
Ayer recently completed the crime drama The Tax Collector, but also directed the Netflix action film Bright and Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad.
