Director Michael Bay, well-known for his work on the Transformers film series, is rumored to be in discussion to direct the upcoming political drama 13 Hours, based on the 2012 attacks on US interests in Libya.The film, adapted from best-selling author Mitchell Zuckoff’s 2014 book, 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi, will be quite the departure for Bay, whose Transformers films are budgeted upwards of $200 million.  13 Hours is expected to be budgeted in the $30-$40 million range, according to an exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter.

Zuckoff’s book details the terrorist attacks on the US Special Mission Compound and a nearby CIA station in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, which resulted in the deaths of US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, including 2 former Navy SEALs acting as government contractors.  Chuck Hogan (author of Prince of Thieves, which was adapted for the screen by Ben Affleck as The Town) has adapted Zuckoff’s book.  Erwin Stoff is attached to produce for Paramount.   No start date or cast have been announced.