12 Strong
| 12 Strong | |
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Teaser poster
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| Directed by | Nicolai Fuglsig |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | |
| Based on | Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Lorne Balfe |
| Cinematography | Rasmus Videbæk |
Production
companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
12 Strong (also known as 12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers) is an upcoming American war drama film directed by Nicolai Fuglsig and written by Ted Tally and Peter Craig. The film is based on Doug Stanton's non-fiction book Horse Soldiers, which tells the story of CIA paramilitary officers and U.S. Special Forces sent to Afghanistan immediately after the September 11 attacks. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, Navid Negahban, Trevante Rhodes, Geoff Stults, Thad Luckinbill, William Fichtner, and Rob Riggle.
Principal photography began in January 2017 in New Mexico. The film is set to be released in the United States on January 19, 2018.
Contents
[hide]Plot[edit]
Following the September 11 attacks, Task Force Dagger, including CIA paramilitary officers and a US Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 595 12 member team, are sent to Afghanistan. They join forces with General Abdul Rashid Dostum of the Northern Alliance to help conduct unconventional warfare against Taliban forces.[2] The movie is based on Doug Stanton’s non-fiction book Horse Soldiers.[3]
Cast[edit]
- Chris Hemsworth as Captain Mitch Nelson, inspired by Mark Nutsch[4]
- Michael Shannon[5] as Chief Warrant Officer Cal Spencer, one of the members of Mitch’s team
- Michael Peña[6] as Sergeant First Class Sam Diller, one of the members of Mitch's team the group attempting to cut off the Taliban’s supply line
- Navid Negahban as General Abdul Rashid Dostum,[2] the leader of the Alliance and is now Vice President of Afghanistan
- Trevante Rhodes[7] as Sergeant First Class Ben Milo, one of the members of Mitch's team
- Geoff Stults as one of the members of Mitch's team
- Thad Luckinbill as one of the members of Mitch's team
- William Fichtner as Colonel Mulholland, one of two U.S. Army officers
- Rob Riggle as Colonel Max Bowers,[8] one of two U.S. Army officers
- Elsa Pataky[9] as Mitch’s wife
- Austin Stowell as Staff Sergeant Fred Falls,[10] an American soldier on the elite U.S. Special Forces team.
- Ben O'Toole as Scott Black,[11] one of the members of Mitch's team
- Austin Hébert as SFC Pat Essex[12]
- Kenneth Miller as one of the members of Mitch's team
- Kenny Sheard as one of the members of Mitch's team
- Jack Kesy as one of the members of Mitch's team
- Laith Nakli as one of the soldiers of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance
- Yousuf Azami, as one of the soldiers of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance
- Saïd Taghmaoui as a Taliban military leader
- Fahim Fazli as Commander Khaled,[13] one of the soldiers of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance
- Peter Malek as Habib
- Allison King as Marcha Spencer
- Lauren Myers as Lisa Diller, Sam's wife
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
On December 2, 2011, it was announced that producer Jerry Bruckheimer had taken out the script by Ted Tally and rewritten by Peter Craig with Nicolai Fuglsigattached to direct, which was bought by Walt Disney Pictures in 2009 for Bruckheimer, based on the Doug Stanton's non-fiction book Horse Soldiers.[14] On March 29, 2016, Deadline reported that Bruckheimer had officially hired Fuglsig to make his feature film directorial debut, which would be co-financed and produced by Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill and Thad Luckinbill through Black Label Media, along with Bruckheimer's Jerry Bruckheimer Films.[15]
Casting[edit]
On September 30, 2016, Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon were cast in the film, and later on November 1, Michael Peña also joined the film.[5][6] On November 3, 2016, athlete turned actor Trevante Rhodes was cast in the film.[7] On November 14, 2016, Austin Stowell was cast in the film to play Staff Sergeant Fred Falls, an American soldier on the elite U.S. Special Forces team.[10] Lionsgate would handle the film's distribution.[10] On November 15, 2016, Austin Hébert was cast to play SFC Pat Essex, the intellectual and engineer of the team, and the same day it was reported that Ben O'Toole had also been cast for an unspecified role.[12][11] On November 17, 2016, Variety reported that Navid Negahban was cast to play General Abdul Rashid Dostum in the film.[2] Elsa Pataky was revealed to be starring in the film in December 2016, while on February 3, 2017, Deadline reported that Rob Riggle joined the film to play an Army Colonel, Max Bowers.[9][8]
Filming[edit]
Principal photography began in early-January 2017 in New Mexico.[9] Mines near Orogrande, New Mexico were used. Later the shooting took place in Socorro, where it ended on January 26 after eight days of filming.[16][17] The film will also be shot in Alamogordo, where it would use the White Sands National Monument as shooting location.[18][19]
