The fact that Paul Greengrass is directing an Iraq war film was enough to create a good amount of eager anticipation for said film, and the leading cast members that have been announced have done nothing but raise the anticipation level. So far we’ve been told that Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Amy Ryan and Greg Kinnear will star in the flick. Now the final piece is in place, and it’s a selection that perfectly complements the high quality of the previously-announced cast members.
As you probably guessed from the title of this article (which renders moot my dramatic posturing in the previous paragraph), Brendan Gleeson will be taking on what Variety calls “the final lead role” in Greengrass’s still-untitled project. This is inspired by (a more accurate descriptor than than “based on”) Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Baghdad’s Green Zone. The Irish Gleeson will play an American soldier. He’s Brendan fucking Gleeson, though, so it’s not like there’s anything to worry about there.
The film has been in production in Spain for a couple months now. Presumably, Gleeson and Isaacs (whose involvement was announced last week) will be brought in when production moves down to Morocco.