Warner Bros. secure Francis Lawrence's Delta Force prison thriller

By Matt Holmes / June 25, 2011

Francis Lawrence (I AM LEGEND, CONSTANTINE) has setup his Delta Force prison action thriller project at Warner Bros. Produced by BLACK HAWK DOWN author Mark Bowden who while researching that novel, came fascinated by the true story of the riots and siege of Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in 1987.

Cuban and American prisoners seized control of the maximum security facility and took more than 100 federal prison staff members hostage. The situation was so extreme that the FBI's hostage rescue team was ill-equipped to handle the riots, and Delta Force, the Special Forces detachment, was called in to retake the prison.

Bowden took the story to Wild Eyes, who then took it to WB, who hired Ari Rubin (WAR MAGICIAN) to scribe the screenplay. Michael De Luca, former President of New Line Cinema is also producing according to The Hollywood Reporter. Lawrence is also expected to begin work on I AM LEGEND 2 before the end of the decade.