George Clooney Directing The Yankee Commandante

As a director, George Clooney loves his political movies, and he’s not afraid of taking on potentially contentious topics. It appears he’s now attached to a film that may be even more hotly charged than his previous directorial efforts.

Deadline reports that he’s signed on to helm The Yankee Commandante, based on a The New Yorker article by David Grann, which was published in May. The ‘article is about William Alexander Morgan, an American who helped Castro and the Cuban rebels overthrow Fulgencio Batista. He’d reached the status of Commandante, the sole foreigner other than Argentinian Che Guevara to be so highly regarded. Shortly after, Morgan, a shadowy man whose motives for being there were subject to suspicion, was imprisoned and facing a firing squad, charged with working for US intelligence. At the same time, his exploits as a rebel soldier led J. Edgar Hoover and everyone else scrambling to sort out his motives and who he was working for.’ There’s no indication whether Clooney is thinking of starring as well.

With the anti-Communist Cuba movement very powerful in the US, it’s a topic most filmmakers would steer clear of, although Clooney is a savvy operator and could well make a movie that’s even handed enough not to seem too pro-Castro (unless that’s what he wants!). It’s certainly an interesting tale that could make a good film.