Six years ago, the Gulf of Mexico was transformed into a political hotbed as the United States, Mexico and countries in the Caribbean came face to face with the biggest man-made environmental disaster in recent memory – the BP oil rig explosion, resulting in a catastrophic oil spill that could been seen from space.
Scrambling to respond, the incident spawned a months-long effort to protect beaches, wildlife and communities all across the Gulf, eventually leading to sealing the sea-floor oil gusher after close to five months. Circling back to the root of the tragedy is Peter Berg’s upcoming disaster pic Deepwater Horizon, and today the first images have surfaced placing Lone Survivor alum Mark Wahlberg in the thick of the maelstrom.
Featuring a script penned by Matthew Michael Carnahan and Matthew Sand, Deepwater Horizon will shed light on the real-life event, and the brave men and women who risked their lives to isolate the disaster and, ultimately, protect those innocent lives that had been thrust into peril. As you will gather from the gallery above, Wahlberg is joined by Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovich, Kate Hudson, and Maze Runner star Dylan O’Brien.
Once pitched to A Most Violent Year and All Is Lost filmmaker J.C. Chandor, it is Peter Berg that will helm Deepwater Horizon, with the studio opting for a more action-heavy character drama than a political thriller. Berg’s cinematic account of the BP oil spill will plunge into the deep blue on September 30.
For now, here’s the official logline:
On April 20th, 2010, the world’s largest man-made disaster occurred on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor), this story honors the brave men and women whose heroism would save many on board, and change everyone’s lives forever.