David Ayer will direct 'Six Years' for Netflix.

David Ayer

David Ayer

The 'Suicide Squad' filmmaker will helm the new project, an adaptation of best-selling author Harlan Coben's thriller 'Six Years', which tells the story of obsession and lost love.

The novel follows college professor Jake Fisher, who lost his one true love Natalie to another man six years ago. When he hears that Natalie's husband Todd has died, Jake goes to the funeral but the grieving widow is not Natalie. This leads him on a quest to discover what happened to her and if all of his memories of their relationship are based on a lie.

This is not the first time the book has been optioned as a movie; back in 2013 Paramount started developing the project with Hugh Jackman attached to star.

Meanwhile, David, 52, previously opened up on how he didn't enjoy the experience of working on the 2016 DC Extended Universe flick 'Suicide Squad' and revealed that his confidence was dented by the harsh critical response.

He said: "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."

He also admitted that his "heart breaks" for Jared Leto after his poorly received portrayal of the Joker was blasted by critics, who questioned the character's lack of involvement in the film.

Replying to a fan's take on Jared's Joker, he tweeted: "For sure character creation is a tightrope. I took inspiration from the current DC comics.

"I find it incredible it's still such a topic five years later. My heart breaks for Jared - he did magnificent work. Most of it remains unseen.

"Wish I had a time machine. I'd make Joker the main villain and engineer a more grounded story. I have to take the good and bad and learn from it. I love making movies and I love DC [Comics]."