VFX production starts on war movie Thunder Run with McConaughey, Worthington, and Butler

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Freedom Films announced today that the VFX production has begun on their 3D Iraq War action flick THUNDER RUN, which stars Matthew McConaughey, Sam Worthington, and Gerard Butler.  Simon West, director of CON AIR, LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER, and the upcoming THE EXPENDABLES 2 is at the helm, which gives it that much more street cred, in my opinion.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Based on the book by Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent David Zucchino, THUNDER RUN is the untold story of the dangerous and bloody capture of Baghdad by American forces.  In April 2003, three battalions and fewer than a thousand men launched a violent thrust of tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles into the heart of a city of five million, igniting a three-day blitzkrieg, which military professionals often refer to as a lightning strike, or “thunder run.” In telling the story of the surprise assault on Baghdad- one of the most decisive battles in recent American combat history- this movie paints the harrowing picture of the soldiers on the front lines and the realities of modern warfare.

Butler, McConaughey, and Worthington will each play a Colonel in charge of one of the three battalions that launches the “thunder run” on the city. 

As a veteran, I always cringe when Hollywood goes to war, because they just bumble so much of it and turn it into hyperbolic nonsense.  The addition of 3D in THUNDER RUN could either be really cool or a gimmicky mess.  I’m certainly intrigued by the cast and director, but will need to see some footage before I make a final call.

THUNDER RUN starts principal photography this summer.  No release date has been announced.