Robert Redford Drops Out of Directing 9/11 Thriller ‘Against All Enemies’ (Exclusive)

Robert Redford has dropped out of directing the 9/11 thriller Against All Enemies.

Redford had been prepping Enemies for a fall shoot, and the film was poised to be Redford’s follow-up to his most recent helming effort, 2012’s The Company You Keep. But sources say he has bowed out due to scheduling conflicts. He will be promoting two films in the fall: Ken Kwapis‘ A Walk in the Woods, which hits theaters on Sept. 2, and the Dan Rather drama Truth, which is currently undated but expected to be released in the fourth quarter.

Redford had been developing the hot-button Enemies, which is based on Richard A. Clarke‘s best-selling memoir, since 2007, right after he finished directing another politically-minded drama, Lions for Lambs, in which he also starred opposite Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise.

Jamie Vanderbilt adapted the Enemies screenplay, which centers on Clarke, the counterterrorism adviser to three presidents, who charged in his book that the George W. Bush administration prioritized Iraq above threats from Al Qaeda both before and after the Sept. 11 attacks. Ironically, Vanderbilt wrote and directed Truth, one of the projects that pushed Enemies off of Redford’s schedule.

Redford isn’t the first to back away from the project. Paul Haggis once was attached to direct when it was in development at Sony. Vince Vaughn flirted with the role of World Trade Center security chief John O’Neill, who died in the Twin Tower attacks. Sean Penn considered starring as Clarke but balked over his payday.

As an actor, Redford also has Pete’s Dragon on the horizon for 2016. But as a director, his next project is in play. He is repped by WME and attorney Barry Tyerman.

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