Michael Shannon is an actor in demand. Earlier today, we brought you the news that the Midnight Special star had closed a deal to join The Current War, a true-life drama the historic battle between George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison; now, Shannon has added another project to his bustling slate, and this time he’s headed for the front lines.
He won’t do so alone, though; Deadline reveals that the God of Thunder himself Chris Hemsworth has also saddled up for Horse Soldiers, the Nicolai Fuslig-directed war drama that has set up shop at Black Label Media. Little is known about the core premise of Fuslig’s drama, only that it takes place shortly after the events of 9/11 when Hemsworth, Shannon and their U.S. Special Forces team are ordered to “a rugged, mountainous region of Afghanistan.” Lifting inspiration from Doug Stanton’s novel, the jury’s still out on whether Black Label is angling this ensemble drama as a Lone Survivor-like actioner, or something a tad more dramatic. Peter Craig and Ted Tally are the screenwriters on board to adapt Stanton’s source material.
Jerry Bruckheimer is among the producers attached to Horse Soldiers, joining the likes of Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, and Thad Luckinbill.
Looking at the slate of both Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon, it’s unlikely that Horse Soldiers will enter active production until the turn of the year. The former is still Down Under filming his title role in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok, while going into awards season Shannon has lined up the one-two punch of Loving and Tom Ford’s romantic thriller, Nocturnal Animals.
