There’s no question that HBO right now is arguably the king of television. Game of Thrones is a worldwide phenomenon and the network as a whole can attract pretty much anybody for its various shows like The Night Of and the upcoming thriller Westworld.
So it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that Bradley Cooper decided HBO would be the best home for his latest project, reportedly developing a miniseries based on the 2016 Pulitzer Prize-winning book Black Flags: The Rise of Isis written by Washington Post reporter Joby Warrick.
HBO stated the series will follow the rise of ISIS:
“From its origins in a remote Jordanian prison to its stunning success in Syria [and] tracks the group’s unlikely roots and transformation into the world’s most feared terrorist organization – as well as the small band of American and international agents tasked with shutting it down.”
The three-time Academy Award nominee will executive produce the project with Joint Effort, a production company he runs with Todd Phillips, with whom he worked with on three Hangover films, in addition to the upcoming War Dogs. Deadline first reported the miniseries going into development, based on Cooper’s reaction to the book after he read it.
Warrick has written for the Washington Post since 1996 and has nearly always been writing about National Security, the Middle East, and Terrorism. His Pulitzer Prize for Black Flags was under the “general nonfiction category.” Pulitzer describes the book as:
“A deeply reported book of remarkable clarity showing how the flawed rationale for the Iraq War led to the explosive growth of the Islamic State.”
Tim Van Patten has been named the director of the series by HBO after his work on Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, and The Sopranos. Author Greg Hurwitz has been named the writer for the series.
The last time Bradley Cooper took a high-profile producing role was for another war film that he starred in, American Sniper. The 2014 movie was about the life and fame of military sniper Chris Kyle during the Iraq War. American Sniper was nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture and a Best Actor nod for Cooper.
HBO hasn’t released an anticipated release date for the series yet.
