Casey Affleck To Headline Boston Marathon Bombing Adaptation

Casey Affleck has signed on to produce and star in a movie centred around the Boston Marathon Bombings of 2013. The film will be based on the book Boston Strong by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge, with a screenplay from The Fighter scribes Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy. The pair optioned the rights to the book back in July 2013 and were originally planning to develop it as a TV series with EOne Entertainment onboard to produce. After that deal collapsed, they took the project to Affleck, who’ll not only star but co-produce the movie with his working partners, John Ridley and Dorothy Aufiero.

While the book has yet to be published, the subject matter is well known. During the 2013 Boston Marathon, a series of bombs disrupted the race, injuring many innocent civilians. One of the city’s biggest manhunts then began as officials sought to apprehend those responsible for the tragic event. According to Variety who broke the news, the film “follows the massive manhunt to apprehend the two men believed to be responsible for the bombings, as well as examining the city’s reaction following the events.”

Affleck has established himself as a loyal hometown lad. Born and raised in Massachusetts, the actor has appeared in numerous Boston-set features, including brother Ben’s directorial debut Gone Baby Gone, Good Will Hunting and true-life disaster epic, The Finest Hours. He’s a strong character actor and will be a perfect fit for the Boston Strong adaptation.

Tell us what you think of Casey Affleck‘s next venture in the comments section and check out the synopsis for the upcoming book below.

New York Times best-selling author Casey Sherman teams up with veteran Boston investigative reporter Dave Wedge for this compelling, dramatic non-fiction account of the heartbreak and heroism at the April 15, 2013, Boston Marathon. Their story will provide exclusive details of the horror of the Boylston Street attacks, the heart-stopping Watertown manhunt and capture of the terrorists, as well as the incredible tales of survival and perseverance in the weeks and months since the bombings shook Boston and the nation. A film based on the book is in development with Red Hawk Entertainment and Fourth Wall – the team behind the Academy Award-winning film, “The Fighter.”