Mike Fleming

Christopher McQuarrie will write, produce and direct Rubicon, a new property that is intended to be turned into a movie, graphic novel and videogame. McQuarrie is directing Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher in One Shot, but the project was announced at NY Comic-Con by coproducers Mark Long and Dan Capel. They describe the project as The Seven Samurai, set in Afghanistan with Navy SEALs as the heroes, and the Taliban the villains. Since Navy SEAL Team Six killed Osama Bin Laden, the SEALs have become the centerpiece of numerous feature films.

“The three of us wanted to do a SEAL project, Dan was a founding member of SEAL Team Six and Chris’s brother commanded a team, but we wanted a new way in to the world of Tier One operators,” said Long, who added that the intention was to “explore the true nature of war, for both its heroes and its victims.” Said McQuarrie: “I’ve always been fascinated with Navy SEALs in general and their role in Afghanistan in particular. With Rubicon, Mark Long and Dan Capel have created the perfect environment for an intense action franchise.” The plan is to create the multiplatform properties simultaneously, with separate but complementary storylines. They’ll tease the graphic novel on Panelfly this month, and include the first chapter of Berserker, an autobiography that Capel has written.