William Monahan, the man who wrote films such as The Departed, Body of Lies and the upcoming Mel Gibson drama Edge of Darkness, is currently set to direct Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley in London Boulevard from another script he wrote, which will mark his directorial debut and it appears he may have found his follow-up.
Variety reports Monahan may direct The Essex, an historical drama about Capt. David S. Porter and his daring sea battles against the British during the War of 1812, from a script he wrote for Graham King’s GK Films.
The film will be set at a time when the ships of the British Royal Navy heavily outnumbered the American naval fleet, and Porter steered the Essex past British cruisers to reach the Pacific, where it devastated the British whaling fleet before engaging in a final battle with a special Brit squadron.
