Jason Isaacs is set to swap one historic drama for another, now that Deadline reveals the Harry Potter alum is ready to follow up his involvement in Armando Iannucci’s The Death of Stalin with Hotel Mumbai, Anthony Maras’ terrorist biopic that’s set to chronicle the Pakistani terrorist attacks on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel that occurred in India eight years ago.
Dev Patel, Armie Hammer and Nazanin Boniadi of Homeland fame are already attached to star in the project that has set up shop at Thunder Road Pictures and Arclight Film. John Collee will adapt the real-life tragedy for the big screen, citing inspiration from 2009 documentary Surviving Mumbai.
For more than 68 harrowing hours, Islamic militant attackers held hundreds of people hostage as a fire raged through the building. The terrorist attack resulted in the death of 164 people with scores left injured, and if not for the heroics of a few – the few that will underpin Maras’ cinematic account – the total death count would have been much higher.
Deadline didn’t disclose a release date for Hotel Mumbai at this time, but with production due to begin in the coming weeks, we fully expect Thunder Road Pictures and Arclight Film to align Anthony Maras’ terrorist biopic for release in 2017.
