Deadline reports that Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows, Non-Stop, Orphan) will direct the upcoming Waco movie for Annapurna Pictures. Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker) and Marc Haimes (Kubo and the Two Strings) have written the script for the film telling the story of 1993 standoff between law enforcement and the David Koresh-led Branch Davidians cult.
Boal’s Page 1 will produce the Waco movie with Megan Ellison and Matthew Budman, with production set to begin this year.
“Waco was a turning point in history in the battle between the FBI and the far right in America,” Boal tells the outlet. “It is a collision between a militant faction, the Second Amendment and the right to religious freedom. Many said this cult was not bothering anyone; this is about what the FBI and Justice Department perceived as a threat, and why and how the FBI came in and crushed it.”
The Waco incident began with a failed raid by the ATF leading to a standoff that lasted 51 days resulting in the death of 86 people and the film will go in depth, covering the buildup of the cult itself and the members of the justice department that were tasked with investigating and eventually standing against the sect.
“Jaume is a filmmaker who has proven himself to have a strong connection to mainstream audiences. His work also shows a high level of artistic ambition, and this is an opportunity to combine those elements in telling a story that started in a small Texas town and reached up to the highest levels of government.”
A competing Waco project is in the works on the Paramount Network for 2018 from Weinstein Television featuring Michael Shannon, Taylor Kitsch, John Leguizamo, Andrea Riseborough, Rory Culkin, Paul Sparks, Shea Whigham, Melissa Benoist and Julia Garner.
