Steven Spielberg Adds WWII Movie to Growing Slate of Films
East Hampton director Steven Spielberg‘s Amblin Partners recently optioned author Judy Batalion‘s book proposal for as yet unwritten World War II story, Daughters of the Resistance: Valor, Fury, and the Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos. The film adds another project to Spielberg’s ever expanding portfolio, which includes Indiana Jones 5, a West Side Story remake, reboots of his Amazing Stories television series and the Animaniacs cartoon, a TV series based on the Halo video game franchise, a Men in Black spinoff, Real Steel 2 and many more (according to IMDB).
To be clear, Spielberg is signed on as executive producer for most of the projects, though it’s been reported he will indeed direct Indiana Jones 5, starring Harrison Ford (without Shia Labeouf), and West Side Story, which will be a modern take on the classic musical. Deadline recently reported that Spielberg is considering Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurrasic World star Chris Pratt to star alongside Ford in the new Indiana Jones sequel.
Written by Batalion, who grandparents survived the Holocaust, the Daughters of the Resistance book proposal “promises a narrative history unveiling the previously untold story of young Jewish women and girls who fought in the Resistance against the Nazis,” according to comingsoon.net. The site also says the book is inspired by Batalion’s “original discovery of these women’s firsthand accounts in Yiddish.”
Spielberg has given no indication whether he will direct the film or not, but he does love a good World War II story. Along with directing Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, he was executive producer for HBO’s epic pair of miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific.
Batalion wrote White Walls: A Memoir About Motherhood, Daughterhood, and the Mess in Between about her life as a hoarder.
Spielberg’s next directorial effort, Ready Player One, opens in theaters on March 29.