The terrifying realities of modern combat has already given moviegoers dozens of outstanding thrillers, from Ridley Scott’s Body Of Lies to Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker. Now, it looks like filmmakers are moving to evolve with America’s shifting foreign policy, if Eye In The Sky, a contemporary thriller focusing on the military’s use of unmanned aircraft, is any indication.
Gavin Hood, the director of Ender’s Game and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, just became attached to helm Eye In The Sky for Colin Firth (who will also star) and Ged Doherty’s Raindog Films. The plot synopsis, courtesy of Deadline, reads as follows:
Eye In The Sky centers on London-based military intelligence officer Colonel Michelle Madden who is remotely commanding a top secret drone operation that aims to capture a group of terrorists in Nairobi. The mission suddenly escalates from a “capture” to a “kill” operation when she realizes the targets are about to embark on a suicide mission, which would result in the deaths of many innocent civilians. Meanwhile, American drone pilot Steve Watts is poised to destroy the safe-house when a nine-year-old-girl enters the kill zone. With unforeseen collateral damage factoring into the equation and with the volatility of the situation increasing, Madden must pass the mission’s authority up the “kill chain” to politicians and lawyers, including the British Foreign secretary.
Hood is no newcomer to gritty thrillers set against the backdrop of the War on Terror. He previously helmed the 2007 thriller Rendition, which told the story of Khalid El-Masri, a German citizen who was mistakenly abducted by the CIA and interrogated in an Afghanistan black site. Given his previous experience with the genre, he should prove to be a smart choice for Eye In The Sky.
Casting for the film will get underway shortly, with Firth being the only actor currently attached. Production on Eye in the Sky is expected to begin in South Africa on August 11th.
