Alan Ritchson to play Navy SEAL in war film produced by Stallone

Among Hollywood's most in-demand faces thanks to the success of the series Reacher, Alan Ritchson is preparing to portray a real-life hero in a new Amazon MGM project. According to Deadline, the actor will play Navy SEAL Mike Thornton in a thriller set in the final days of the Vietnam War, directed by Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3).

The film will recount Thornton's extraordinary feat, where he led a group of 5 men trapped behind enemy lines. Severely outnumbered, the team had to face an army of 150 soldiers before attempting a desperate escape towards the South China Sea. Thornton, carrying a severely wounded lieutenant and a comrade tied to his body, swam for hours in hostile waters until reaching safety, an act of courage that earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor.

8 Projects Underway for the Actor on the Rise

Sylvester Stallone will not appear on screen but will produce through his Balboa Productions, alongside Todd Lieberman and Alex Young. Ritchson himself is also producing with his AllyCat Entertainment, also co-writing the screenplay with Mark Semos and Jason Hall (American Sniper).

This project is part of the 3-film deal between Ritchson and Amazon MGM, which also includes the Christmas action-comedy The Man with the Bag with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Meanwhile, the actor continues to star in the fourth season of Reacher and will also appear in Fast & Furious 11.