A new issue of Empire is on the shelves from today, and alongside a giant 16-page Reservoir Dogs retrospective, there's exclusive coverage direct from the set of Bright, the unusual new Netflix film from Suicide Squad director David Ayer. We've got a world exclusive new image of its stars, Will Smith and an orc-ed up Joel Edgerton , to share with you here – take a look.
Described by Smith as "Training Day, a down and dirty hardcore rated-R cop drama, meets Lord Of The Rings", Bright mashes up a gritty cop movie with fantasy elements. In the feature, David Ayer explains a little about his approach, alluding that Netflix's creative freedom was something of a refresher after his experience in the DCEU.
Was Bright, asks Empire, influenced by his experience on Suicide Squad? “Yeah, absolutely,” he admits. “Because I got some supercharged muscles on Suicide Squad, from making a film so big, but it was a rough experience. A tough experience. It became a bit of a slog at the end. It was an incredible financial success, but I got flayed by the critics, and that’s scary, that’s painful. And it shook my confidence as a storyteller.” As a result, he was determined to apply the lessons he’d learned. “I’m very proud of Bright,” he says. “It’s my voice, it’s who I am. And it was great to get my voice back.”
It’s instructive to understand when he felt he lost that voice. We ask if it was amidst the critical kickback, or during the Suicide Squad production itself, and Ayer is silent for a few seconds. “I gotta be cautious on how I answer things like that,” he eventually says, erring on the side of diplomacy. Then he adds, “If someone walks into a bank and shoots it up under your name, it’s under your name. What are you gonna do?”
For more on the biggest Netflix film ever made, be sure to pick up a copy of the new issue of Empire, on sale now. Bright arrives on Netflix from 22 December.
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