Though still waiting on word on when he can return to production on Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) has found his next project in the form of Jeff Nichols (Loving)’ upcoming adaptation of Yankee Comandante, according to Variety.
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Based on David Grann’s New Yorker article, the story follows two people who rose to the rank of comandante during the Cuban Revolution, one being legendary guerrilla leader Che Guevara while the other was William Alexander Morgan, an Ohio citizen who led a band of rebels that drove the Cuban army from key positions in the central mountains and helped pave the way for Fidel Castro’s forces to secure their victory, only to later turn against Castro after learning of his Communist ideals.
An adaptation of the article and of Michael Sallah & Mitch Weiss’ novel “The Yankee Comandante: The Untold Story of Courage, Passion and One American’s Fight to Liberate Cuba” was previously underway in 2012 with George Clooney (Catch-22) seeking out the rights to both, but that project seemingly lingered in development hell until now.
The film marks a reunion between Nichols and Driver following their work on the 2016 sci-fi drama Midnight Special, in which Driver starred alongside the writer/director’s frequent collaborator Michael Shannon (The Quarry). The 41-year-old writer/director is set to pen the script and direct, with sources reporting that production is expected to begin in 2021.
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Imperative Entertainment and 30West are currently in discussions with select studios for the project and the package currently being shopped around to distributors.
