Clint Eastwood to direct Capt. 'Sully' biopic for Warner Bros.

How is Clint Eastwood following American Sniper? Chronicling the life of Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, that’s how. Warner Bros. announced Tuesday that the Hollywood icon would be directing the biopic of the commercial airline pilot who was touted as a national hero in 2009. The script, written by Todd Komarnicki (Perfect Stranger), is based on the pilot’s autobiography, Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, co-written by Jeffrey Zaslow. The film is untitled at the moment, and production will begin later this year.

“Simply put, Clint Eastwood is at the top of his game, not to mention a global treasure,” Warner Bros. Pictures’ President of Creative Development and Worldwide Production Greg Silverman said in a statement. “On the heels of his extraordinary work in American Sniper, it is tremendously exciting to see him explore the life of another captivating true-life hero.”

To refresh your memory: Sullenberger was piloting US Airways Flight 1549 when it struck a flock of birds. He then performed an emergency landing in New York’s Hudson River. Everyone on the flight survived. But the film’s scope will look beyond that one January day.

“I am very glad my story is in the hands of gifted storyteller and filmmaker Clint Eastwood, and veteran producers Allyn Stewart and Frank Marshall,” Sullenberger said in a statement. “The project could not have found a better home than Warner Bros. Pictures. This is truly a dream team.”

Eastwood is on the heels of his biggest directorial project in Sniper, which earned nearly $550 million worldwide. He, Stewart, Marshall, and Tim Moore are producers on the self-proclaimed dream team, while Kipp Nelson and Steven Mnuchin will executive produce.