Filmmaker Michael Bay is gearing up to direct a new military drama based on the true story of the recent rescue mission carried out in Iran during Operation Epic Fury. The action film director has collaborated with Universal Pictures to chronicle the extraordinary heroism of the two US airmen whose F-15E Strike Eagle was downed behind enemy lines, reported Deadline.
The yet-to-be-titled project will be adapted from an upcoming book by Mitchell Zuckoff, scheduled for publication by HarperCollins in 2027.
The rescue mission reportedly took place in early April, nearly a month after Operation Epic Fury began. The US military launched a large-scale operation in the Zagros Mountains of Iran after the fighter jet was brought down in hostile territory. Both the pilot and weapons systems officer were successfully extracted from enemy-controlled terrain.
US President Donald Trump reportedly described the operation as “one of the most daring search-and-rescue operations in US history.” The dramatic extraction quickly drew global attention and eventually caught Bay’s interest as he considered his next directorial venture.
Film will ‘celebrate unwavering dedication of service members’
Speaking about the project, Bay said the film would celebrate “the true heroism and unwavering dedication of our service members.”
“I’ve had an amazing partnership over my 30-year career working with the Department of War and amazing U.S. military members. In my film 13 Hours, no rescue force answered the call for help. This film is about everyone who answered the call in one of the most complex, intricate and high-stakes operations in recent history. It celebrates the true heroism and unwavering dedication of our service members,” Bay told Deadline.
The upcoming film will also reunite Bay with producers Scott Gardenhour and Erwin Stoff. The trio had earlier collaborated on 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, another military drama based on real events.
Over the past three decades, Bay has frequently worked alongside the US military and law enforcement on films such as The Rock, Bad Boys and Armageddon. Military support also played a key role to ensure accurate portrayals of the US Armed Forces in Pearl Harbor, Transformers and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.
Zuckoff is a professor of communications at Boston University. In 2014, he authored a book named 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi. The book was co-written with the surviving members of the security team involved in the 2012 Benghazi attack on the U.S. consulate.
