Ben Stiller is steering away from directing season 3 of Severance to focus on his first feature film since Zoolander 2. The project is a WWII survival drama that has been in development for years, now identified as The Lost Airman, a collaboration between Amazon and MGM Studios.
The Lost Airman was first announced in 2017 with Jake Gyllenhaal attached to star. It is an adaptation of Seth Meyerowitz’s novel about American turret-gunner Arthur Meyerowitz, who was shot down over France in 1943. After his plane went down, Meyerowitz was taken in by France’s legendary Morhange resistance and evaded Gestapo capture for six months before escaping with help from a decorated British pilot. Gyllenhaal remains on as a producer and could still appear in the lead role. At one point, he even considered directing the film himself, but the directing duties will instead pass to Stiller.
Stiller’s directing résumé includes Reality Bites, Tropic Thunder, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Zoolander, and The Cable Guy, a mix of comedy and drama that has endured over the years. Gyllenhaal, meanwhile, has a busy slate ahead, including a Road House sequel, his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride!, M. Night Shyamalan’s Remain, and Guy Ritchie’s In the Grey.
The Lost Airman is slated to begin shooting in spring 2026, marking a return to big-budget filmmaking behind the camera for Stiller while continuing to position Gyllenhaal as a central figure in production and possible onscreen involvement.
Additional context and value:
– This project highlights Amazon/MGM’s investment in historical war dramas with prestige casting and production teams.
– The long development arc (announced in 2017 and moving toward production in 2026) suggests a careful, potentially character-driven adaptation of a real-life WWII survival story.
– If Stiller can balance Severance’s ongoing production with this feature, the collaboration could yield a high-profile, emotionally resonant film pair with strong performances from a veteran director and a star-producer.
Summary: The Lost Airman represents a significant shift from Stiller’s TV-to-film transition, pairing a decades-long development with Jake Gyllenhaal’s producing clout and potential star power, as it moves toward a 2026 production start. The war-era true story at its core promises a tense, resilience-focused drama with the potential to stand out in the current slate of historical cinema. Positive outlook: the collaboration between seasoned talent and a rigorous production slate could deliver a compelling, well-crafted WWII drama that resonates with contemporary audiences.