David Ayer Given the Boot from ‘Scarface’ Remake for Being “Too Dark”

Love them or hate them, it seems remakes are here to stay. In fact, it seems that absolutely nothing is sacred, and no film – no matter how important to the history of modern cinema – is safe. That’s certainly true of Scarface, which is currently undergoing tweaks courtesy of Universal.

If you’re old enough to remember 1983’s Scarface, then you’ll no doubt have loved its insane mix of violence and vulgarity, with Al Pacino in the role of a lifetime as Tony Montana, a two-bit thug who rises from the ashes like a criminally insane phoenix, to become king of the mountain in the drug world. It is routinely listed in top 10 lists, and has influenced countless other movies.

So why then, if Universal are planning a remake of one of the most beloved R rated movies of all time, have they fired David Ayer because they feel his script is “too dark”?

Film’s don’t come much darker than Scarface. If the current script is deemed “too dark”, then what the Hell have Universal got planned for the new version? Are they seriously hoping for a PG-13 reboot? That would be like remaking The Godfather for toddlers.

Ayer – who was already the studios second choice behind Antoine Fuqua – hasn’t said much on the subject yet, though we expect we’ll here from him soon enough. Ayer was last seen behind the camera for 2016’s critically panned Suicide Squad. How he can be sacked for being “too dark”, yet never got sacked for making Suicide Squad “too shit” is beyond me!

Maybe he wanted Jared Leto to play Tony Montana?