He was back in battle with the Transformers this year, but Michael Bay has his eye on a much more real-life conflict for a potential future film. He’s in negotiations to tackle 13 Hours, which will be set during the fateful attack on an American compound in Benghazi, Libya in 2012{
Chuck Hogan, who co-wrote The Strain trilogy with Guillermo del Toro and worked on the TV adaptation, is responsible for the script, which is sourced from Mitchell Zuckoff’s book. The focus will be on six members of a security team who fought to defend the U.S. State Department Special Mission Compound when terrorists attacked the place. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and one of the compound’s workers died in the initial assault and two contractors were killed during another attack on a nearby CIA facility.
The attack and the US administration’s response has since become a political talking point, and any film about the incident is sure to be controversial. Still, this appears to be Bay sticking to his mandate to make more nuanced films between his bombastic blockbusters, albeith with subject matter that still offers him a chance to film combat. Paramount is backing the film, which would presumably kick off shooting next year.