Here’s an unusual pairing I never thought to see. La La Land and Babylon director Damien Chazelle, and The Beekeeper director David Ayer, who are teaming up on a survival film, Heart of the Beast.
Deadline reports that Ayer will direct Heart of the Beast with Chazelle producing. Penned by Cameron Alexander, the film “follows a former Navy SEAL and his retired combat dog who attempt to return to civilization after a catastrophic accident deep in the Alaskan wilderness.”
Ayer is coming off one of the biggest films of his career, The Beekeeper, starring Jason Statham. Given the success of that pairing I wouldn’t be surprised if Statham at least considers this one, as well. The two are already set to reteam on an adaptation of Levon’s Trade, based on a popular series of action novels. In recent months, Ayer has been trying to bring a director’s cut of Suicide Squad to fans but that’s unlikely to happen.
As for Chazelle, he’s coming off the mega-flop Babylon and he’s got nothing else in the works, at least as a director. It’s possible after such a huge, high-profile disappointment that Chazelle is taking a break from directing and turning his attention to producing on a regular basis.