--- description: The "Hollywood Reporter" confirmed on Monday night that two competing Bergdahl biopics are in the works title: Not One but Two Bowe Bergdahl Movies Are Already Being Planned image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteaf0597de02bc74d/698696ac3bc9993f571a3fb2/495330957-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Not One but Two Bowe Bergdahl Movies Are Already Being Planned by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 17, 2014 4:02 AM CUT  In this undated image provided by the U.S. Army, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl poses in front of an American flag. In this undated image provided by the U.S. Army, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl poses in front of an American flag.U.S. Army/Getty Images by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 17, 2014 4:02 AM CUT It’s been only three days since Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl returned to the U.S. after nearly five years in a Taliban prison, and already Hollywood is seeking to capitalize on the surrounding controversy. The _Hollywood Reporter_ [confirmed on Monday night](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bowe-bergdahl-films-works-712346 "undefined") that two competing Bergdahl biopics are in the works. The first comes from Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow, two filmmakers fairly seasoned in the craft of politically topical movies. Together, they wrote, directed and produced _Zero Dark Thirty_ and _The Hurt Locker_, which collectively won seven Academy Awards. Todd Field — _In the Bedroom_ and _Little Children —_ also has plans to direct and produce a Bergdahl film for Fox Searchlight, having acquired the rights to late journalist Michael Hastings’ [2012 _Rolling Stone_ profile on](http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/americas-last-prisoner-of-war-20120607 "undefined") “America’s last prisoner of war.” Though the _Hollywood Reporter_ describes the two projects as “competing,” there may be little overlap between them. Boal and Bigelow’s film is said to treat the issue of Bergdahl’s release by Afghan forces — in a controversial trade for five Taliban prisoners in U.S. custody — whereas Hastings’ _Rolling Stone_ piece, the presumed basis for Field’s script, caters more to the 28-year-old’s backstory. At this point, though, both projects still sit very much on the drawing board. Neither Boal and Bigelow nor Field have obtained Bergdahl’s “life rights,” and any biographical film produced without them may run into some [development hurdles](http://variety.com/2012/film/news/life-rights-a-thorny-dealmaking-point-1118059991/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2888337/bowe-bergdahl-hollywood-biopic/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2888337/bowe-bergdahl-hollywood-biopic/"},"headline":"Not One but Two Bowe Bergdahl Movies Are Already Being Planned","datePublished":"2014-06-17T04:02:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:27:10.525Z","description":"One is to be produced by the duo that gave us Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker; the other is based on a biographical article by late journalist Michael Hastings","url":"https://time.com/2888337/bowe-bergdahl-hollywood-biopic/","keywords":["movies","Afghanistan","Hollywood","Bowe Bergdahl"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteaf0597de02bc74d/698696ac3bc9993f571a3fb2/495330957-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteaf0597de02bc74d/698696ac3bc9993f571a3fb2/495330957-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Bergdahl Being Treated At U.S. Military Hospital In Germany","caption":"Bergdahl Being Treated At U.S. Military Hospital In Germany","creditText":"U.S. Army/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2888337/bowe-bergdahl-hollywood-biopic/","name":"Not One but Two Bowe Bergdahl Movies Are Already Being Planned"}}]}] ```