Scripted by Samuel Franco and Evan Kilgore, Mayday 109 is based on the true story of Kennedy’s time as a Navy captain during WWII. In the war the young Kennedy was captain of a PT boat that was attacked and sunk by a convoy of Japanese destroyers, leading to Kennedy’s involvement in one of the most dramatic Naval rescues in history. A 1963 film on the same topic called PY 109 was directed by Leslie Martinson and received a lukewarm response, with Cliff Robertson playing Kennedy.
The film is a coproduction between Basil Iwanyk’s Thunder Road Pictures and Beau Flynn’s FlynnPictureCo. “We could not be more excited about Ansel coming aboard,” Iwanyk told Deadline. “Not only is he a tremendous actor, he embodies the charisma, athleticism and looks of a young JFK. We love that this is not a biopic nor a film about politics. This is simply a riveting and unbelievable tale that very few people know—about a young man who was a hero long before becoming the iconic 35th President of the United States. With Ansel, we’ve found our perfect JFK.”
Mayday 109 is currently without a production timeline—producers are now searching for a director.
