We already know Ben Stiller dropped out of directing the upcoming third season of “Severance” to free himself up for something bigger: a return to features. He’s now prepping an untitled WWII “survival” film, eyeing an early 2027 shoot in Prague. Jeremy Allen White will take on the lead role. A24 is backing the project after Amazon/MGM exited in 2026.
Though Stiller hasn’t publicly revealed details, the film is called “Airman,” which was originally announced in 2018 as a Jake Gyllenhaal-led vehicle (without Stiller attached). The film is based on Seth Meyerowitz’s book, which Stiller reportedly became interested in after being sent a copy by “Severance” producer John Lesher.
Now, more talent has seemingly been added. A Production Weekly listing — below — has Emmanuel Lubezki as the DP. Lubezki’s participation in the film doesn’t seem so far-fetched when you realize that he was also the DP on Stiller’s “Reality Bites,” way back in 1994. They haven’t worked together since.
Any film with Lubezki involved is worth reporting on. He just lensed Iñárritu’s “Digger,” set for an October release. Lubezki might be the best cinematographer working today; it’s a toss-up between him and Roger Deakins — I slightly favor the latter. Lubezki has been Oscar-nominated a whopping eight times for Best Cinematography and then became the first person to win the category three straight years (“Gravity,” “Birdman” and “The Revenant”).
The ‘Airman’ story, drawn from Obama-era declassified records, recounts the harrowing ordeal of Arthur Meyerowitz, an American turret gunner whose B-24 was shot down over Vichy France in 1943. While hiding in the French countryside, Meyerowitz was sheltered by Marcel Talliander, the founder of the famed Morhange resistance group, and spent six months narrowly evading the Gestapo. His eventual escape relied on a complex plan involving R.F.W. Cleaver, one of the war’s most decorated British pilots.
White is clearly paving a post-‘Bear’ path for a movie career. He was seen in the Bruce Springsteen biopic ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’ last fall, recently shot A24’s spy action flick “Enemies,” and is set to star in Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Network Part II.”
For all the jokes about “Zoolander 2,” Stiller’s résumé as a filmmaker is respectable: “Reality Bites,” “The Cable Guy,” “Zoolander,” “Tropic Thunder,” “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” A WWII survival thriller would mark a new turn, and there’s real confidence he can deliver something worthy here.
Lubezki’s participation in the film doesn’t seem so far-fetched when you realize that he was also the DP on Stiller’s “Reality Bites,” way back in 1994. They haven’t worked together since.