Peter Berg, best known for directing action films Battleship and Lone Survivor, is set to take on one of the three upcoming films focusing on the Boston Marathon bombing.
According to Variety, Berg is in final talks to direct Patriots’ Day which is based on the account of Ed Davis, the Boston Police commissioner who led the manhunt to find the perpetrators in 2013. Berg’s Lone Survivor star Marg Wahlberg is reportedly interested in playing the lead. The pair are currently shooting Deepwater Horizon, an action drama about the worst oil spill in US history
As well as using the account of Davis, the film will also utilise research and footage from US current affairs show 60 Minutes. The script comes from Matt Charman, who wrote Steven Spielberg’s upcoming spy thriller Bridge of Spies as well as Michelle Williams romance Suite Française.
Patriots’ Day is one of three films in development about the tragedy, with Jake Gyllenhaal in talks to play the lead in Stronger, a drama based on survivor Jeff Bauman who lost both of his legs. It’s set to be directed by Pineapple Express and Prince Avalanche’s David Gordon Green.
The third project, called Boston Strong, lost star Casey Affleck but will be directed by Child 44’s Daniel Espinosa.
