The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023 film)
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is an upcoming American legal drama film directed by William Friedkin. It was the final film he directed before his death. The film is scheduled to premiere on September 3, 2023 at the 80th Venice International Film Festival. 

The film is based on the court-martial scenes of the Herman Wouk novel The Caine Mutiny, which was adapted into a film of the same name. The trial had previously been dramatized as a stage play.

Premise 
When a U.S. Naval captain shows signs of mental instability that jeopardizes the safety of his ship, the first officer relieves him of command and faces court-martial for mutiny. Greenwald, a skeptic lawyer, reluctantly defends Maryk, an officer of the navy who took control of the vessel from its dominant captain Queeg whilst caught in a violent sea storm. Greenwald becomes increasingly concerned as the court martial proceeds and questions if the Caine were a true mutiny or simply the courageous acts of a group of sailors that could not trust their unstable leader.

Cast

Production 

In September 2021, William Friedkin announced plans to develop an adaptation of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and that he was beginning the process of casting the film. The following year, in August, Deadline Hollywood officially reported that a new adaptation of Herman Wouk's novel The Caine Mutiny directed by Friedkin was in the works. Kiefer Sutherland was announced to star, with Friedkin having altered Wouk's script himself to reflect a more modern timeline, setting it in the Persian Gulf, as opposed to the original's World War II setting. Principal photography began presumably in January 2023 and was completed sometime before star Lance Reddick's death in March. In the wake of his death, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro posted a tweet, praising the actor's performance in the film.

According to del Toro, he had apparently sat beside Friedkin every day during the shoot. Since the production had been operating on a tight schedule, Friedkin expected that everyone come to the set prepared so as to avoid doing any retakes. Rather than scold a particular actor who stumbled over a crucial line several times, del Toro said Friedkin instead asked, "You wanna do it in an hour or so? Or we pick it up tomorrow?":

"The gesture was healing, soothing and put the entire set back in control. I had seen, at the ripe age of 58, that of th[e] many tools in Billy's arsenal, kindness was one of the most effective ones."

Release 
In March 2023, Paramount Global revived Republic Pictures, with The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial announced as one of its first acquisitions. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is set to premiere in September 2023 at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it will screen out of competition. The film will be Friedkin's sole posthumous work. He died on August 7, 2023.

References

External links 
 

Upcoming English-language films
Films directed by William Friedkin