Last week, we learned Ben Stiller wouldn’t be returning to direct season 3 of Severance because he’s going to be busy directing his first feature film since Zoolander 2. That project, a WWII survival film, had few details at the time. But now we’re learning (via World of Reel) that it’s actually something that’s been kicking around for nearly a decade, and has Jake Gyllenhaal attached.
Sources say the film is The Lost Airman, an Amazon/MGM Studios project first announced in 2017 with Gyllenhaal in the starring role. The film is an adaptation of the novel by Seth Meyerowitz about American WWII turret-gunner Arthur Meyerowitz, who was shot down over France in 1943. Taken in by France’s most legendary resistance group, Morhange, he evaded capture by the Gestapo for six months before making his escape with the help of a decorated British pilot.
Gyllenhaal is still aboard as a producer, with the chance he could star. For a time he even considered directing it himself, which would’ve been interesting to see. Instead, it’ll be another actor in Stiller behind the camera.
Still doesn’t direct a lot, but his track record is pretty good: Reality Bites, Tropic Thunder, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Zoolander, and even The Cable Guy all hold up.
As for Gyllenhaal, he’s got a lot coming up including a Road House sequel, his sister Maggie’s The Bride!, M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller Remain, and Guy Ritchie’s In the Grey.
Shooting on The Lost Airman begins in spring 2026.
