‘Drowning’: Paul Greengrass To Direct A Thriller About People Trapped In A Crashed Plane

Though many people think of Paul Greengrass for his work on the ‘Bourne’ franchise, he really broke out in a big way with his film, “Bloody Sunday,” which is based on a true story. And after ‘Bourne,’ he would go on to direct films inspired by real events such as “United 93,” “Captain Phillips,” and “22 July.” Clearly, he has a keen eye when it comes to taking very human, emotional stories and making them incredibly cinematic. And for his next film, he’s tackling something very similar, though “ Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421” is not based on any real events. (But the title sure does sound like it, right?)

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According to Deadline, Warner Bros. has hired Paul Greengrass to write and direct a new film titled, “ Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421,” which is based on the novel of the same name by author T.J. Newman. The fictional story sounds ripped from the headlines and follows the survivors of a plane crash who find themselves in an airtight portion of the wreckage on an ocean floor cliff. The film will focus on the small group of survivors, which includes a man and his young daughter, as a rescue crew attempts to save them. 

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If that doesn’t sound like the type of film Greengrass excels at, then we don’t know what does. This news also comes just a few days after it was announced that Edward Berger would be directing the next ‘Bourne’ film. Greengrass previously helmed the three most recent films in that franchise, including 2016’s “Jason Bourne.” The filmmaker’s newest film is 2020’s “News of the World,” which stars Tom Hanks.

It’s unclear when we might see “Drowning” hit theaters. However, the report claims WB won an expensive bidding war to get the rights to the novel. If that’s the case, you have to assume the studio would like to get this one before cameras as soon as possible.