McTiernan’s Comeback Movie Resurfaces At Cannes

Back in March John McTiernan kind of dropped some negative news when he began talking about Warbirds, an apparent comeback movie of his, in past tense.  “He was attached to the role. The problem was Hannibal Pictures. When they found out that it was with John [Travolta] … In short, we will do one of these days. But it will take time before these people are off the project.”

Since then though, the movie has appeared at Cannes, somewhat.  Hannibal Classics placed a poster at the event, along with USS Indianapolis starring Nicolas Cage.  And John Travolta is included.  Thanks to Sergei for sending these in.

So maybe the movie is not dead at all.  The poster looks pretty good as well, shades of Broken Arrow there with John Travolta.  Release date is tentatively July 2016.  Here is the outline for Warbirds, along with posters for Riot and more below.

AMOS HAWKINS is an amazing pilot who works as an aerial firefighter – a water bomber. But that’s just his legitimate profession; he earns most of his money as an aerial mercenary. A Chilean man has hired Amos to bomb an oil field on a patch of land bordering Chile and Argentina. It should be a safe job, with no human casualties, but it’s big enough that it will require a team.

Amos knows where to start looking for his team. He makes his way to a country club in Reno, which is hosting an air race. He makes his way through a swanky reception – being extra careful to avoid his ex-wife LAURIE, who is an excellent pilot in her own right. He recruits JOHANN VON KLEIST, a young brash pilot, and TULSA, a tall Chuck Yeager type who works the bar. HARRY HOLDEN, a tall, cocky and possibly insane pilot, sees him making the rounds and knows something is up. Amos reluctantly lets him join the team. Lastly, he approaches FRANK CALDER, a family man who has promised his wife he will never take these kinds of jobs anymore. Frank’s twenty-one-year-old daughter PEGGY volunteers her services, and Frank assures Amos, “She’s better’n both of us.” Amos welcomes them both to the team.

The last piece of the puzzle is also the trickiest. IGNATIUS “IG” DAYTON is a cantankerous old man with a grudge against Amos. But with the promise of a quarter of a million dollars – plus bonus cash — he signs on. The team meets at an airstrip in Baja, joined by their controller, a ballsy woman affectionately known as MAMA.

The mission quickly goes south and Amos realizes it’s a trap. Faced with return fire, they fight their way out and barely manage to survive. Harry proves to be every bit as reckless as Amos feared, taking out bulldozers, dump trucks and anything else he can target. But he soon finds himself in the crosshairs of a Mig-15. He gets hit, but utilizes his ridiculous skills to evade any more fire. As the rest of the crew rendezvous at an abandoned airstrip, Harry has to crash-land his plane in Argentina.

The Mig pilot ejects from the plane and Harry gives chase. A fight reveals the pilot to be…LAURIE, Amos’s ex-wife!

Amos visits the man who hired him, a suave businessman named NICOLAS CAMPOS, but Nicolas can’t provide any answers for the ambush. Amos is left to figure out why he has been double-crossed and why his ex-wife is working for the other side.

Featuring an entertaining cast of colorful characters, and directed by one of cinema’s modern masters, John McTiernan (Die Hard, The Thomas Crown Affair), Warbirds is an astonishing action adventure that is sure to thrill worldwide audiences.