Eiza González is bringing the warfare to the United States…
Lionsgate has picked up the domestic distribution rights to Guy Ritchie’s World War II film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, starring the 33-year-old Mexican actress/singer.
In addition to Gonzalez, the film also stars Henry Cavill, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer and Cary Elwes, among others.
The studio is targeting a 2024 wide theatrical release.
Prime Video has secured most of the international rights for the film, distributing across Europe, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, India and pan-Asian pay TV.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is billed as an “outrageous true story” about U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s and James Bond author Ian Fleming’s secret WWII combat organization.
As per a synopsis, “this clandestine squad’s unconventional and entirely ‘ungentlemanly’ fighting techniques against the Nazis significantly changed the course of the war and gave birth to the modern Black Ops unit.”
Principal photography begins on Monday in Turkey. Acknowledging the devastating earthquake that has ravaged parts of the country, Ritchie and the producers noted that the shoot will take place “several hundred miles from the epicenter” of the disaster.
“We do so with profound sympathy for everyone affected,” said Ritchie in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the members of our crew with family in the region. We wish to express our sincere condolences to the people of Turkey. We stand by them and are committed to supporting members of our production team and the wider community over the coming weeks and months.”
The film’s script is from Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, Arash Amel and Ritchie, and based on war correspondent and military historian Damien Lewis’ best-selling book of the same name. Tamasy and Johnson initiated the project and sold it as a pitch to Bruckheimer and Paramount in 2015.
Jerry Bruckheimer will produce alongside Chad Oman, Ritchie’s producing partner Ivan Atkinson, and John Friedberg for Black Bear International.