Summit Entertainment has released a number of new images from Deepwater Horizon, a disaster drama that tells the true story behind the 2010 BP oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. A Most Violent Year and All Is Lost filmmaker J.C. Chandor was initially attached to direct the film before departing during pre-production over creative differences. Star Mark Wahlberg subsequently enlisted his Lone Survivor director Peter Berg to step in, and the film was rewritten as more of a true story action drama in the vein of A Perfect Storm than a political blockbuster.
Scripted by Matthew Michael Carnahan and Matthew Sand, the film recounts the story of the brave men and women whose heroism saved many lives in the midst of the world’s largest man-made disaster. Berg is a solid filmmaker and he assembled pretty terrific cast here, including Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovich, Kate Hudson, and Dylan O’Brien, so I’m curious to see what the finished film looks like. While Chandor’s exit was unfortunate, and I’d certainly love to see the kind of movie he was intent on making, it’ll be interesting to see if Berg delves into the politics of the disaster at all or if he keeps the focus on telling the human story of those aboard the titular oil rig.
We’ll no doubt find out soon enough as a trailer debut is imminent, but for now peruse the new images below. Deepwater Horizon opens in theaters on September 30th.
Here’s the official logline for Deepwater Horizon:
On April 20th, 2010, the world’s largest man-made disaster occurred on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor), this story honors the brave men and women whose heroism would save many on board, and change everyone’s lives forever.