If Rob Riggle had amassed a collection of comic roles over the past few years – from Sony’s Jump Street series to Dumb and Dumber To and everything in between – the actor is now beginning to transition to more dramatic fare.
And so, following roles in both A Happening of Monumental Proportions and Midnight Sun, Riggle has signed on for Horse Soldiers, an Afghan war drama in which he’ll play his former Army Colonel, Max Bowers. Per Deadline, Rob Riggle actually served under Bowers during his time in Afghanistan circa 2002, which no doubt ensures that the actor will bring first-hand knowledge and experience to the role. Doug Stanton’s nonfiction novel will serve as primary inspiration for Horse Soldiers, which documents the harrowing journey of an untrained captain who orders a team of U.S. Special Forces into a rugged, mountainous area of the Middle East in the weeks after 9/11.
Nicolai Fuslig will direct a cast that also makes room for Chris Hemsworth, Michael Pena, Austin Stowell and Moonlight‘s Trevonte Rhodes. Of that quarter, Pena holds the critical role of Diller, a member of Mitch’s (Hemsworth) squad that was “assigned to join forces with a Northern Alliance warlord to fight against overwhelming odds to drive out the Taliban.” As the squadron find themselves smack bang in the middle of a flashpoint, Diller is said to have showcased tremendous bravery during his time on the front lines, even spearheading an attempt to severe one of the Taliban’s primary supply lines.
There’s currently no mention of a production timeline for Horse Soldiers, but we expect Nicolai Fuglsig and Co. to get the wheels in motion before the year’s end.
