Following last month’s announcement that Luke Evans (The Alienist) would be joining Roland Emmerich’s (Independence Day franchise, The Day After Tomorrow) World War II action movie Midway, Deadline has confirmed that Golden Globe nominee Patrick Wilson (Fargo, Aquaman, The Conjuring franchise) has boarded the project as well.
Based on the true story of the Battle of Midway, a turning point in the Pacific theater of World War II, the film chronicles the heroic and harrowing exploits of the soldiers and aviators who achieved the unbelievable to turn the tide of the war.
Wilson will be portraying Edwin Layton, the rear admiral in the U.S. Navy who was a key intelligence officer during WWII. The actor will next be seen on the big screen opposite Jason Momoa in Aquaman and recently joined the Netflix adaptation of Stephen King’s novella, In the Tall Grass.
Wilson joins Evans who is playing Naval Cross winner Commander Wade McClusky, as well as the already announced Woody Harrelson (Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Mandy Moore (This Is Us) in the feature.
From Stuard Ford’s AGC Studios, Midway is written by Wes Tooke (Colony) and produced by Emmerich’s Centropolis Entertainment, Harald Kloser (2012, White House Down, Independence Day: Resurgence), and Mark Gordon (Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot, Molly’s Game). The film is in pre-production with principal photography to start August 16.
Starlight Entertainment Group and Providence Entertainment Limited are financing Midway. U.S. and China theatrical distribution is already set with Lionsgate to release through its Summit Entertainment label stateside and Bona Film Group to release in Greater China. Creative Artists Agency (CAA) brokered the financing and distribution deals.
Universal Pictures released a big budget epic version of the event also titled Midway in 1976, which starred Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn and Toshiro Mifune.
