Zoe Saldana and Reed Morano are bringing the story of two heroines — one a CIA agent, the other a 15-year-old escaped ISIS captive — to the big screen. The duo are joining forces for “Sabaya,” a fact-based thriller about “the unlikely circumstances” that led to a 2015 U.S. Special Forces raid, the death of a top ISIS leader, and the destabilization of the radical Islamic State. Saldana will star and Morano will direct, according to Deadline.
“Sabaya” will see Saldana playing a CIA officer who forms a friendship with a former ISIS sex slave, i.e. a “sabaya.” “The 15-year-old Yazidi girl can neither read nor write, but as she works with the teen to piece together her harrowing odyssey out of Syria, the CIA officer finds that the abused girl has pinpointed the nerve center of the Caliphate,” the source details. “The subsequent dramatic raid on the site of the young woman’s captivity results in the capture of intelligence that would spell the end of the Islamic State.”
Written by William Monahan (“The Departed”), the film hails from Spycraft Entertainment, a production company that counts former CIA officers among its leadership ranks. The execs “work with retired members of the intelligence community to create and develop content based on their true stories,” Deadline writes.
“It is an honor to be a part of the telling of this story,” said Saldana. “This young woman’s journey is one for the books, and I am beyond grateful we will get to immortalize it on the silver screen.”
Morano described “Sabaya” as “a larger than life epic but it’s also an intimate, raw portrait of a young girl’s determination and the bond that forms between these two women,” she explained. “I’ve not seen such a mind-blowing adventure that is simultaneously so emotionally transcendent, from these perspectives before.”
Out January 31, Morano’s Blake Lively-starring revenge thriller “The Rhythm Section” is the only woman-directed pic on Paramount’s 2020 slate. She won an Emmy for directing the pilot of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Her feature credits include “I Think We’re Alone Now” and “Meadowland.” Next, she’s working on “The Power,” an Amazon series adapted from Naomi Alderman’s novel. The story sees the world’s female population suddenly developing the ability to produce and manipulate electricity.
Saldana recently signed on to star in “From Scratch,” a Reese Witherspoon-produced Netflix series. Based on Tembi Locke’s memoir, it traces a bereaved woman’s journey through grief, love, and hope. Her other credits include the “Avatar,” “Star Trek,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and “Avengers” franchises.
