'Peaky Blinders' star joins Alan Ritchson in Prime Video's upcoming Navy SEAL movie
Alan Ritchson's career received a significant boost with his moving portrayal of Jack Reacher in the eponymous series on Amazon Prime Video. His success led to the signing of a three-picture deal with Amazon MGM Studios. As a part of this deal, Ritchson is slated to star in an upcoming Navy SEAL movie directed by Patrick Hughes. Joe Cole, known around the world as John Shelby on the crime drama series 'Peaky Blinders', has now been confirmed to join the cast of the movie.
As per a Deadline report, the upcoming, yet untitled, Navy SEAL movie will focus on a true heroic act from the final days of the Vietnam War. Ritchson will portray the real-life character of Navy SEAL Mike Thornton. As the story goes, Thornton and his compatriots were desperately pinned down and forced to execute a perilous retreat. The group, which consisted of Thornton as the one leading another Navy SEAL and three members of the Vietnamese Special Forces, found themselves behind enemy lines and facing off seemingly insurmountable odds in the form of a hundred and fifty enemy combatants. As they faced overwhelming odds of thirty to one, the small group fired their way through to the South China Sea, which was the only way of escape available to them.
Having two other humans strapped to him, Thornton swam for days through troubled waters to reach safety. This unprecedented feat of bravery eventually earned Thornton a Congressional Medal of Honour, the highest service medal for bravery in battle. Thornton then went on to serve in the armed forces and was also a founding member of SEAL Team Six. Although the characters from the upcoming movie are yet to be revealed, Collider speculates that Ritchson will be playing the character of Thornton himself, with Cole possibly being one of the other injured members of the team.
Cole is a well-known British actor hailing from London. He began his career by playing recurring roles in TV shows such as 'The Thick of It' and 'Skins' before creating ripples with his performance through the first four seasons of 'Peaky Blinders'. He also received widespread acclaim for his contribution to shows such as 'Nightsleeper', Gangs of London', and 'The Ipcress File'. Cole is a versatile actor who has also made his mark on the big screen via his performance in movies such as 'The Damned', 'Green Room', and 'Thank You For Your Service', the last of which was written by Jason Hall, the co-writer of the Navy SEAL movie. Cole will be next seen in the upcoming movies 'Subversion' with Chris Hemsworth and 'He Bled Neon'.
The upcoming Navy SEAL movie will be directed by Patrick Hughes and is based on a script co-written by Mark Semos, Alan Ritchson, and Hall. The film is produced under the banner of Sylvester Stallone's Balboa Productions, in association with D. Matt Geller and Ritchson's own AllyCat Entertainment. No details surrounding the film's potential release date have been made available as of now.
