Rogue One scribe Chris Weitz is closing in on a deal to direct MGM’s as-yet-titled period thriller, one to be based on the story of infamous war criminal, Adolf Eichmann.
Deadline has the scoop, revealing that Weitz – who is also attached to gay rights drama 21 Years To Midnight for Fox 2000 – has opened negotiations to helm the feature film, centering on Eichmann’s heinous Holocaust architect. During the high time of Hitler’s reign, Eichmann was one of the key designers who marshalled helpless Jews from all over Europe to concentration camps set up across Poland and other Easter European outposts.
After the fall of Nazi Germany and the Third Reich, Eichmann scurried back to his home country of Austria. Then, some years after the fallout of World War II, the former Holocaust operator was spotted in Buenos Aires in 1953, before he was eventually seized by Israeli intelligence seven years later. Even up until his execution in 1962, Eichmann displayed zero signs of remorse.
According to today’s report, MGM’s pitch for the wartime thriller is more in line with Ben Affleck’s Argo, revolving around the gruelling manhunt to find and apprehend Adolf Eichmann. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Automatik are producing, with Matt Charman executive producing.Â
Before potentially tackling one of the most diabolical war criminals of the 20th century, Chris Weitz made a name for himself working on much more light-hearted affairs. Chief among them was Disney’s recent live-action Cinderella, before writing a treatment for Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
