Cillian Murphy To Lead Blood Runs Coal Movie Adaptation
Universal has acquired the rights to the movie adaptations of Mark A. Bradley’s Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America.
The stories follow the 1969 assassination of mining union organizer Joseph Albert “Jock” Yablonski, his wife, and 25-year-old daughter. They were brutally gunned down in their home on December 31, 1969, after he campaigned against a corrupt union leader. Their bodies were discovered a week later by Yablonski’s son Chip.
The event sparked a lengthy investigation that unearthed shady dealings in the coal industry and altered the history of American labor unions forever.
The compelling stories chronicle “a shocking episode of organized labor’s blood-soaked history” (Steve Halvonik, former Post-Gazette reporter and editor). The riveting well-researched account reveals the dysfunctionality of the union and coal mining, which viewers will soon be able to appreciate on the big screen.
Cillian Murphy, one of the most phenomenal Irish actors of all time, has been brought on as the protagonist and producer of the non-fiction book. He will star alongside the talented husband-wife duo, John and Jordan Davis of Davis Entertainment, with Bradley as executive producer.
Joining the production is the Tony award-winning playwright Jez Butterworth. He will write the screenplay with his brother John-Henry Butterworth. Both have become known for their work on the 2014 science fiction action film Edge of Tomorrow.
The brothers have also worked together in Fair Game, which won them the Writers Guild of America’s Paul Selvin Award. Their work was commended by the president of the labor union who said, “Their absorbing script articulates nuances of political and personal speech, while adeptly maintaining a tight focus on the human-scale drama, illuminating the all-too-personal costs when our basic rights are put in jeopardy.”
With such mastery on board, viewers can anticipate a visually striking and intellectual storyline, with a focus on intricate details that add depth to the characters.
With this mining drama and Oppenheimer, Murphy is all set to dominate the non-fiction space. The 2023-released biographical thriller about J. Robert Oppenheimer became a pop-culture phenomenon that bagged Murphy his first Oscar win. He won over the likes of Bradley Cooper who starred in Maestro, Colman Domingo in Rustin, Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction, and Paul Giamatti from The Holdovers.
In his acceptance speech, he reflected on the movie’s jarring themes, wrapping it up with “So I’d really like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere”.
Apart from Oppenheimer, Murphy is best known for his role as Thomas “Tommy” Shelby, the intelligent Birmingham gangster and politician in the British period crime drama Peaky Blinders. According to the BBC drama creator Steven Knight, he will be reprising his role in the standalone Peaky Blinders film.
As for when the film adaptation will be released, we don’t have much intel. With Murphy being as busy as ever after his much-deserved Oscar win and a sequel trilogy to 28 Days Later in the making, it could take some time!
