Hero to Hero: Eastwood’s Next Film About Famed Pilot ‘Sully’ Sullenberger

The heroic story of U.S. Airways pilot Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger will be brought to life on screen through a film directed by Clint Eastwood, Warner Bros. Pictures announced Tuesday.

According to Variety, the studio is in talks to acquire the rights to the biopic, titled Sully, which tells the true story of how the pilot glided his unpowered Airbus A320-214 into the Hudson River, after it was disabled by birds in January of 2009.

All 155 people aboard the flight, designated US Airway Flight 1549, survived, and “Sully” became an instant hero.

Variety reports after the success of Eastwood’s American Sniper, which was the highest grossing film at the domestic box office in 2014, Warner Bros. was on the hunt for the iconic director’s next project, and may have found it.

The story is based on the memoir Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, which was co-authored by Sullenberger and late author and former Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow, which looks in-depth at the pilot’s life.

The rights to Highest Duty were acquired by Producer Frank Marshall in 2010, shortly after its release, and the story has been in development ever since.

Eastwood showed interest in directing the upcoming Boston Marathon bombing film Patriot’s Day, but became interested in spotlighting another American hero, per Variety.

Patriot’s Day will star Mark Wahlberg as Police Commissioner Ed Davis, and follow the events leading up to and surrounding the infamous April 2013 terrorist attack.

Frank Marshall and Allyn Stewart will produce Sully. A release date remains to be set.