Michael Bay to direct film on US F-16 crew’s daring escape and rescue mission in Iran

The project, backed by Universal Pictures, will dramatize the April 3 shootdown of a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle and the subsequent rescue of its two crew members during a US-led operation in Iran..US F-16 fighter aircraft. (File Photo: AP)Hollywood filmmaker Michael Bay is set to direct a new feature film based on a recent US military rescue operation in Iran, bringing the high-risk battlefield mission to the big screen just months after it unfolded.The project, backed by Universal Pictures, will dramatize the April 3 shootdown of a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle and the subsequent rescue of its two crew members during a US-led operation in Iran, Deadline reported.The film will focus on what US officials described as a complex combat search-and-rescue operation in Iran’s Zagros Mountains.According to reports, the aircraft—call sign “Dude 44”—was shot down by Iranian air defenses around 4:40 a.m. local time during Operation Epic Fury.Both crew members ejected and landed separately. One was reportedly located and rescued within hours after an intense engagement, while the second evaded capture for an extended period while injured and hiding in mountainous terrain.US special forces later recovered the second airman in a coordinated extraction operation.President Donald Trump later described the mission as: “One of the largest, most complex, most harrowing combat search-and-rescue missions ever attempted by the military.”Michael Bay’s war dramaMichael Bay, known for large-scale action films such as Transformers and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, will direct the project, according to Deadline.The film is expected to be based on an upcoming book by Mitchell Zuckoff, scheduled for publication by HarperCollins in 2027.Bay will reunite with producers Scott Gardenhour and Erwin Stoff, with whom he previously worked on 13 Hours.Hollywood meets military storytellingBay has a long history of collaborating with the US military on productions including The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and Transformers, often receiving logistical and operational support for realistic portrayals.The upcoming film continues that trend, focusing on real-world military operations and high-intensity rescue scenarios.