Surveillance and the militarisation of the police is a tightly topical theme at the moment, much as it was when chopper thriller Blue Thunder flew into cinemas back in 1983. Sony has decided to update the idea with a reboot, hiring Marvel regular Craig Kyle to write the script{
But forget any visions of a shades-clad pilot taking to the skies in a tricked out helicopter, Roy Scheider-style. Instead, this one will tap into the drone zeitgeist and follow the world’s most advanced unmanned weapon, which, we assume, will find itself at the centre of a moral quandary. Either that, or it’ll become self-aware and decide that wiping out humanity is the key to peacekeeping. After all, there are no strings...
Kyle, a producer and writer who has been part of Marvel’s creative committee as it brought its cinematic universe to life (and has been scripting Thor: Ragnarok), will work on the idea for producer Dana Brunetti, who has set the project up. He’s working alongside Jason Blumenthal, whose Escape Artists company was also developing something along the same lines.
This is just the latest take on drone warfare and their use beyond the combat zone to take to cinematic skies. Also on the way is Good Kill, starring Ethan Hawke and on target for April 10 and Gavin Hood’s Eye In The Sky, which doesn’t yet have a UK release in its sights.