THR reports that Straight Outta Compton writer and co-executive producer Alan Wenkus has been tapped to write a script based on the New York Times best-selling book, Code Name: Johnny Walker for 28 Entertainment. The book was written by Jim DeFelice, the co-author of Chris Kyle’s autobiography, American Sniper, which was later adapted into a huge hit film.
Code Name: Johnny Walker is a nonfiction book that goes inside the Navy SEALs. The story follows an Iraqi citizen nicknamed “Johnny Walker,” who worked with the U.S. Navy SEALs as a translator. He later went out fully armed as part of different SEAL teams on more than 1,000 missions over a six-year period, helping the SEALs track down terrorists. When Iraqi insurgents targeted Johnny Walker and his family for death because of working with the American military, the SEALS brought Johnny and his family to safety in the US.
The project is currently being shopped to buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival. Speaking on the upcoming film, Wenkus stated: “Johnny’s story is a cinematic thriller, and it goes far beyond what the book was able to cover. There are so many stories from SEALs about Johnny’s heroics that are so captivating. I know it has the potential to make an amazing film. It’s a side of the Iraq situation that’s never been told. Johnny started out as an Iraqi citizen who saw the beginnings of the rise of ISIS and worked with the SEALs to save hundreds of American and Iraqi lives and possibly change the course of the war.”
Wenkus was one of the two original writers for Compton, which has currently grossed over $152 million at the domestic box office off a $28 million budget.