Sony Seals October 12, 2012 Release Date For Kathryn Bigelow's Bin Laden/SEAL Team Thriller

Sony Pictures has dated the untitled movie from The Hurt Locker team of Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal on the Navy SEAL Team 6 and its methodical hunt to kill Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden. The picture will open Oct. 12, and the studio is using a strategy similar to the one employed on The Social Network, which also launched early in October.

When bin Laden was killed, Boal and Bigelow were well along on a project called Killing Bin Laden, about the so-far unsuccessful attempt to kill the mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks. It immediately became the hottest project in town, and Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Films banner agreed to fund the film. Buyers materialized during the Cannes Film Festival even as Boal was rewriting the script to reflect a most satisfying third act. Deadline broke news around that time that Sony signed on as distributor. They’ve kept details close to the vest even as thesps like Warrior’s Joel Edgerton were rumored to be taking part.