Ben Affleck has signed on to both direct and star in the World War II film Ghost Army. Universal Pictures is developing the project, which is based on a true story and draws from Rick Beyer and Elizabeth Sayles‘ book, The Ghost Army Of World War II.
The book chronicles how a squadron of American soldiers used “old-fashioned smoke-and-mirrors” to save lives. Selected for their creativity and ingenuity, they used blow-up tanks, fake radio transmissions, and noise machines to deceive the German forces, hiding the allies’ true locations and saving countless lives in the process.
True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto has written the most recent draft of the script. Shazam! writer Henry Gayden had penned a previous version.
This will be another true-story project for Affleck. His 2012 film Argo focused on the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Iran under the guise of filming a sci-fi film, and won Best Picture. He’s also currently attached to direct pal Matt Damon in a film about a monopoly scam in which an ex-cop rigged the McDonald’s Monopoly game and stole millions of dollars for himself, friends and family members.
Affleck has been sniffing around a number of projects since his last directorial effort, Live By Night, was a big disappointment. His three films prior to that were all impressive though, and Ghost Army sounds like a solid project to get him back on track. It’s unclear whether this or the Monopoly project will move ahead first.
On the acting side of things, Affleck has a few exciting roles lined up. He’s set to co-star in Dee Rees‘ Mudbound follow-up The Last Thing He Wanted, while he will also star in the addiction drama Torrance, which is being helmed by The Accountant director Gavin O’Connor.
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