Well, this is definitely one way to diversify a portfolio: Universal Pictures and Lorne Michaels’s Broadway Video have bought the feature rights to The Operator: Firing the Shots That Killed Osama Bin Laden And My Years As A SEAL Team Warrior. Per Deadline, the film will be based on the memoir of former Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill, who, as the title subtly hints, fired the shots that killed Osama Bin Laden. The script will be penned by Michael Russell Gunn, the supervising producer of Showtime’s Billions. Michaels will produce, as he is often want to do, and O’Neill himself will executive produce.
The film will chronicle the decade-long experience of O’Neill and his teammates between 9/11 and the famed raid on Bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound. While this may sound like a major departure for Michaels, we can’t forget that he kind of waded in the wartime drama pool in 2016 with Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, starring Tina Fey. It’s still too early to determine whether or not they’ll attempt to inject comedy into the takedown of a vicious terrorist mastermind, but hey, it wouldn’t be the first time Michaels’ sheer nerve made waves.
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Considering that the SNL creator rarely strays from his gargantuan pool of players for any project, it’ll be interesting to see just who gets tapped for such an intense tale. Maybe Beck Bennett should get ready for his close-up.
