Mark Wahlberg is in talks to star in the J.C. Chandor-directed Deepwater Horizon for Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment and Participant Media. Based on the true-life story of the 2010 Bp oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico which caused the worst oil spill since the Exxon Valdez, the movie is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian. The story, adapted from The New York Times’ article “Deepwater Horizon’s Final Hour,” highlights the courage of those who worked on the oil rig when it blew, killing 11 and injuring 16 others.
Wahlberg will star as the No. 2 manager on the doomed oil rig in the story about what happened behind-the-scenes in the 48 hours leading up to and the day of the disaster. It revisits the acts of heroism that followed in trying to rescue men in the water, stories not known to the general public.