Ben Stiller and Jeremy Allen White Circling ‘Airman’

Studio A24 is looking to land the new project, which would chronicle an American airman’s attempts to survive behind enemy lines in Vichy France in 1943.

(Left) Ben Stiller arrives on the red carpet of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Credit/Provider: Mark Von Holden / The Academy. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S. (Right) Jeremy Allen White at the 30th Annual SAG Awards red carpet. Photo: Andrew Piccardo for Shutterstock for SAG Awards/Netflix.

Preview:

Ben Stiller is looking to direct ‘Airman’.
‘The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White is in talks to star.
A24 is making a deal to distribute.

While some movies vanish into the obscurity of development limbo, others find a way to clamber out and start their journeys to screen anew.

Take, for, example, impressive based-on-truth World War II tale ‘The Lost Airman: A True Story of Escape From Nazi-Occupied France’, which at one point was in the works as a starring project simply called 'Airman' for Jake Gyllenhaal.

Airman

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Starring: Jeremy Allen White

He’s since pulled the eject cord (though still has a producer credit), but now The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Ben Stiller and Jeremy Allen White are in talks to direct and star respectively, with A24 also circling the potential movie as distributor.

What’s the story of ‘Airman’?

Ben Stiller presents the Oscar® for Production Design during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Credit/Provider: Phil McCarten / The Academy. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

The source material in this case is Seth Meyerowitz’s 2016 book, which tells the incredible true story of Arthur Meyerowitz, an American turret-gunner whose B-24 bomber was shot down over Vichy France in 1943.

While hiding in the French countryside, Meyerowitz befriended Marcel Talliander, the founder of the legendary French resistance group Reseau Morhange, who helped shelter the man from the Gestapo through his secret network. After six months of barely evading capture, an escape plan was hatched that saw the soldier cross into Spain and eventual freedom.

‘The History of Sound’s Ben Shattuck wrote the screenplay, which Stiller would direct.

What else are Ben Stiller and Jeremy Allen White working on?

Jeremy Allen White as Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto in 'The Bear' Season 4. Photo: FX.

Stiller hasn’t stepped behind the camera for a feature since 2016’s ‘Zoolander 2’, but he’s certainly been keeping busy on the small screen, overseeing 2018 limited series ‘Escape at Dannemora’ and, more recently, pop culture sensation ‘Severance’ for Apple TV+.

The latter's second season notched 27 Emmy nominations, with the trophies set to be handed out this month.

As for White, he’s still best known for FX series ‘The Bear’, which has seen him scoop his own haul of awards.

But movie-wise, he’s also been drawing praise for his role in Bruce Springsteen music biopic ‘Deliver Me from Nowhere’, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival last week. It’ll be on screens on October 24th.

When will ‘Airman’ be on screens?

The deals are still at a relatively early stage, so until ink has been spilled on contracts and plans are more securely in place, don’t expect to learn a release date.

Male Actor in a Comedy Series, Jeremy Allen White, 'The Bear' 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards, Show, Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, USA - 24 Feb 2024. Credit: Photo by Christopher Polk/Shutterstock for SAG.