It’s perhaps not surprising that Bowe Bergdahl is intriguing a lot of filmmakers – his story brings up a lot of issues about the War On Terror, not least the controversy over his release and whether he went AWOL before his capture by the Taliban or not.
Now Deadline reports that Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal are re-teaming up for a film about Bergdahl, while Little Children’s Todd Field and Fox Searchlight have set a rival film in motion. The latter movie will be based on a 2012 Rolling Stone article entitled America’s Last Prisoner of War, written by Michael Hastings.
The film will explore the story of the solider who in 2009, was captured by the Taliban and spent five years in captivity after reportedly wandering off his base, with suggestions that he was upset about the incompetence of others around him and the bureaucracy surrounding the war.
He was eventually released on May 31, 2014, in exchange for five Taliban prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. While some were ready to welcome Bowe back as a hero, other said President Obama had given up too much for a man who may be a deserter (and the Army hasn’t ruled out charging him over that).
Both are currently in the early stages of development, so it’s impossible to tell which one will get off the ground first. There’s also the fact this is still an unfolding story, and subsequent revelations could affect both movie.