Michael Bay, the filmmaker behind Pearl Harbor, Pain & Gain and the Transformers movies, is set to direct a film about Operation Epic Fury.
The Universal Pictures film will be based on the true story of April’s rescue of two downed American pilots in Iran after their F-15E Strike Eagle was struck down during the US’ attack on the country.
The news was reported by Deadline, whose sources told them that Bay will chronicle the extraordinary heroism of the two US airmen behind enemy lines.
The film will be based on journalist Mitchell Zuckoff’s forthcoming book about the rescue mission, which arrives via Harper Collins in 2027. It will mark Bay’s second collaboration with Zuckoff, following 2016’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi - which followed members of the Annex Security Team who fought to defend the American diplomatic compound in Libya after waves of attacks by militants.
There’s a lot to unpack here - from the distasteful timing to the fact that the pilot rescue mission took place as part of Donald Trump’s wildly unpopular, unconstitutional, and still ongoing war with Iran.
The Trump administration have been trying to avoid congressional approval for Operation Epic Fury and last month, the Pentagon unveiled more details of Trump's $1.5 trillion defense budget request for fiscal year 2027. All while Americans struggle to make ends meet and fuel prices continue to soar.
Then there’s Bay helming the project...
While it’s always a good idea to keep an open mind and judge on the finished product, based on Bay’s cheesy, bombastic and pro-military filmmography, there’s a reasonable chance that this will be meat-headed, flag-waving, American propaganda of the lowest order.
Just consider the poster tagline for 13 Hours: “When everything went wrong six men had the courage to do what was right”. That should give you some indication as to the jingoistic Bayhem audiences will most likely be fed – without any meaningful exploration as to why those pilots were sent there in the first place.
Time will tell. And hey, at least there’ll be over-stylised explosions. Lots of them.
No release date has yet been announced for Bay’s new film.
