One Of America’s Most Dangerous Rescue Missions Is Becoming A Movie

Director Michael Bay is on tap to direct a movie based on the epic rescue mission to retrieve two downed American airmen in Iran.

Bay, in partnership with Universal Pictures, is developing a feature-length film based on an upcoming 2027 book by author Mitchell Zuckoff. The book — and by extension, the movie — will tell the story of the two U.S. airmen who went down behind enemy lines in Iran during Operation Epic Fury.

The project will describe how their F-15E Strike Eagle operating under the call sign “Dude 44” was shot down over Iranian territory in early April, just weeks after the United States and Israel launched a joint military operation in Iran.

According to the planned adaptation, the pilot, known as Dude 44 Alpha, was located and extracted within hours. But the plane’s weapon systems officer, Dude 44 Bravo, remained stranded in the rugged Zagros Mountains.

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For nearly two days, the injured Dude 44 Bravo actively evaded capture by Iranian forces, hiding in the mountains and ravines while he waited for the rescue mission he knew was coming.

That eventual rescue came in the form of a daring night raid that included dozens of aircraft and hundreds of American special operations forces, all coordinating to fight off the Iranian forces — who were still desperately trying to locate the downed American first — and safely extract Dude 44 Bravo.

Bay may have gotten his start directing music videos — for everyone from Styx and Donny Osmond to Vanilla Ice and Meat Loaf — but he is no stranger to bringing heroic military stories to the silver screen. In 2016, he directed “13 Hours,” a film based on the siege of the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that took place on September 11, 2012.